İmamoğlu speaks on his candidacy: Mentions 'different candidate' for the first time!

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been imprisoned since March 23, 2025, spoke to BBC Türkçe ahead of the IMM trial scheduled to begin on March 9.

Regarding his ongoing preparations, İmamoğlu stated, "I am in a process where I am carrying out significant political work to share our way forward with our nation."

"I AM NOT JUST PREPARING FOR A LEGAL DEFENSE"

It was stated that the first hearing of the IMM trial will be held on March 9 at the Marmara Prison Campus in Silivri, Istanbul. The indictment for the case, opened on charges of "corruption," notes that Ekrem İmamoğlu is being tried on the allegation of "establishing a criminal organization."

İmamoğlu made the following remarks regarding his preparation process:

"First of all, I am making great preparations to explain to the whole world what this initiative is, which attempts to label the honorable people of this country, politicians, bureaucrats, and even employees in our municipalities who are just doing their jobs and have no interest or connection to politics, as corrupt and thieves. I am preparing for a hearing where we will bring not only the conspiracy process that began on March 19, but also what has been inflicted upon Turkey for years, to the court of the nation's conscience."

İmamoğlu also added, "I am reading a lot and writing a lot. I am eagerly awaiting the day of the hearing where I will make our nation's feelings heard."

CRITICISM OF AKIN GÜRLEK

Addressing the appointment of Akın Gürlek as Minister of Justice on February 11—who was the Chief Public Prosecutor of Istanbul during the time the IMM investigation was conducted—İmamoğlu said this situation raises questions regarding political cases.

İmamoğlu made the following assessment regarding Gürlek:

"Wasn't he the one who, while a judge, became a deputy minister, and then was made the Chief Public Prosecutor of Istanbul just to have us arrested and prevent us from doing our duty? The one who acted as an instrument for politics' tutelage over the judiciary by preparing an indictment full of various slanders and false witness statements? He is very useful for politics. But the day will come when this usefulness will end for someone, and paths will part."

"IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO IS MINISTER IN THIS SYSTEM"

Criticizing the Presidential Government System, İmamoğlu made the following remarks regarding the position of ministers following the 2017 constitutional amendment:

"With the entry into force of the 2017 Constitutional amendment, it does not really matter who is a minister in Turkey. It makes no difference whether it is Akın Gürlek or Yılmaz Tunç. Because in this regime called the Presidential Government System, ministers are not ministers of the state and the nation, but of a single person."

"LET THE HEARINGS BE BROADCAST ON TRT"

Recalling that the phrase "the biggest corruption file of the century" had been used previously regarding the IMM investigation, İmamoğlu stated that the trial must be conducted transparently.

Touching upon the issue of trust in the judiciary, İmamoğlu said:

"Today, approximately 80 percent of society does not believe that judicial processes are conducted independently of the political atmosphere. If, in fact, no one was arrested solely on witness testimony, then let the processes be conducted completely transparently. Let independent legal experts evaluate them. Let the press follow them freely. As we have proposed, let the hearings be broadcast on TRT, because justice is not realized behind closed doors, but in the conscience of the nation."

"WHAT ESCAPE? I AM WAITING FOR THE DAY WE MARCH TO THE ÇANKAYA MANSION"

Stating that he should be tried without arrest, İmamoğlu rejected allegations that there is a possibility of him fleeing or tampering with evidence.

İmamoğlu made the following remarks on this subject:

"Do I have a flight risk? What escape? I am waiting for the day we march to the Çankaya Mansion. Do I have a risk of tampering with evidence? In the past 11 months, have they been able to find a single piece of evidence for their slanders?"

"I WILL SUPPORT THAT CANDIDATE"

Evaluating the debates on his presidential candidacy, İmamoğlu said his candidacy was not a personal decision.

"I became a candidate with the preference of 15.5 million citizens after the March 19 conspiracy," said İmamoğlu, expressing that the issue is not a personal matter.

İmamoğlu made the following statement:

"I will support whatever path and whoever's candidacy will protect democracy in Turkey. My issue is not the issue of İmamoğlu becoming President. The issue is the issue of Turkey; the issue is the fate of our democracy."

"IT IS EASY TO SAY 'İMAMOĞLU DIDN'T WORK, LET SOMEONE ELSE BE'"

İmamoğlu also addressed the view of "If it's not İmamoğlu, let there be another candidate" within the scope of candidacy debates.

Stating that this approach is not correct, İmamoğlu said:

"If we say 'okay then, let's compete with another candidate' when the government pushes its opponent out of the game with a judicial conspiracy, what is done to İmamoğlu today will be done to someone else tomorrow. It is easy to say 'İmamoğlu didn't work, let someone else be,' but this path is not the right path either."

CALL FOR UNITY TO THE OPPOSITION

İmamoğlu stated that all pro-democracy segments must act together in the upcoming elections.

In this context, he made the following call:

"For the upcoming elections, we need to develop an option where all opposition parties, primarily my party the CHP, and all institutions, organizations, and initiatives that stand for democracy come together and build a path together."

CALL TO BAHÇELİ: "MAKE A DECISION"

Addressing the "fair trial" calls occasionally made by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, İmamoğlu evaluated Bahçeli's statements.

İmamoğlu said:

"Mr. Bahçeli, thank you, occasionally makes calls for the realization of things that are right for us, just as he does for Turkey. However, his coalition partner either does not hear or does not care even if they do hear. Mr. Bahçeli, who calls us 'thieves, corrupt' at every opportunity, needs to make a decision. Is he demanding a fair trial, or is he confusing the nation's mind with zigzagging rhetoric?"

ASSESSMENT OF THE "TERROR-FREE TURKEY" PROCESS

İmamoğlu said he supports the "Terror-Free Turkey" process initiated by the government but is not satisfied with the point the process has reached or the report prepared.

Speaking about the report prepared by the commission, İmamoğlu stated that the report proposes a framework regarding the dissolution of the organization and the integration of its members.

CRITICISM OF ERDOĞAN

Criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as well, İmamoğlu made the following assessment regarding the process:

"A report emerged that does not go beyond proposing a framework for the dissolution of the organization and the integration of its members, and compliance with the current constitution and laws. The ball is now in the Parliament's and the government's court. However, the trend shows that the President will make even the fundamental steps that need to be taken a matter of bargaining."