İmamoğlu in custody: What is the 'City Consensus'?

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was taken into custody during an operation conducted on March 19, 2025. The operation was carried out within the scope of allegations regarding the "City Consensus" and Medya A.Ş. tenders. In addition to İmamoğlu, detention warrants were issued for nearly 100 people, including journalists and businesspeople. So, what is the City Consensus? Here are all the details you are curious about...

WHAT IS THE CITY CONSENSUS?

The City Consensus is a concept first brought to the agenda by the DEM Party on December 4, 2023, and adopted as a local election strategy. With this strategy, the goal was to participate in elections with candidates upon whom all dynamics of the city agreed, and to determine names as candidates on whom the public reached a common consensus across Turkey.

TALKS BETWEEN CHP AND DEM PARTY

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and his delegation visited the DEM Party Headquarters on December 13, 2023. During this meeting, which was described as a courtesy visit, the local elections and the concept of city consensus were also brought to the agenda. The CHP delegation stated that no official proposal was made to the DEM Party during this meeting.

In line with the city consensus strategy, the DEM Party aimed to cooperate with different political parties in different regions and participate in elections through joint candidates. This strategy once again highlighted the importance of alliances and consensus in local elections.

DETAILS OF THE OPERATION AND DETENTIONS

İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was taken into custody as part of an investigation into allegations regarding the "City Consensus" and Medya A.Ş. tenders. In the operation, detention warrants were issued for nearly 100 people, including journalists and businesspeople. Along with İmamoğlu, names such as Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, İBB Deputy Secretary General Mahir Polat, and Reform Institute President Mehmet Ali Çalışkan were also taken into custody.