FLASH
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Turkey's largest opposition party is launching a symbolic national effort to collect 30 million signatures calling for the release of Ekrem Imamoglu, the imprisoned mayor of Istanbul who is the main political rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and early elections.
The figure would be significant in that it would be more than the number of votes Erdogan received in the 2023 presidential election, according to Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel, who spoke to the Financial Times about the petition on April 15.
Ozel faces a struggle to maintain the momentum of the battle on behalf of Imamoglu, the CHP's declared candidate for the upcoming presidential election, who was arrested last month, with all indications pointing to him defeating Erdogan in a fair race.
But according to critics, the moves to release Imamoglu and elect him President will not be able to produce anything.
CHP party officials say more than 10 million people have signed the petition so far.
Other ongoing efforts include holding a "Free Imamoglu" rally every Wednesday in Istanbul and periodic demonstrations across the country.
"There are very few examples in the world of how to overthrow an authoritarian populist leader with peaceful demonstrations and civil protests," Ozel told the FT.
In confronting Erdogan, who has denied that the corruption charges against Imamoglu are politically motivated, Ozel faces a ruthless political operator. “Whatever you can imagine, that Erdogan can do… There are no limits,” Ozel said.
Noting the lack of international criticism of the regime's imprisonment of Imamoglu, he added: "Unfortunately, the current global context – Trump, Putin, the war in Syria – has given Erdogan a position with which other leaders want to bargain."
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