Kemal Kirişçi/Brookings: As a Turkish court bans Istanbul’s mayor from politics, has Erdoğan miscalculated?

Source:Brookings blog Date:13Jan2023

The ruling resembles Erdoğan’s “faux pas” from 2019, when the YSK canceled the initial local election and then Imamoğlu won the repeat election with an even larger margin. However, whether this recent court ruling will backfire on Erdoğan’s prospects of winning the upcoming presidential election will depend on the opposition reaching the necessary compromises and urgently finalizing the nitty-gritty details of preparing for a tough election, including announcing a joint candidate.