KONDA Research President Erdem: The 24-hour gap between diploma cancellation and arrest is striking

Following the cancellation of his diploma on March 18, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained in a dawn raid on his home on March 19.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was detained as part of a 'financial crimes' investigation into the İBB, was arrested by a duty judge and sent to Silivri Prison on March 23, the same day he was nominated as a presidential candidate after receiving 15.5 million public votes.

THE 24-HOUR DETAIL IN THE OPERATION

While the CHP and other opposition parties stated that the investigation and trial process of Ekrem İmamoğlu were not conducted in accordance with the law, the entire process brought numerous controversies with it.

Opposition figures, led by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, stated that the process was political rather than legal, criticizing the investigation for being too fast and the judicial process for being too slow. The length of time taken to prepare the case file led to comments that 'they are accusing him first and trying to find evidence later.'

KONDA Research President Aydın Erdem explained the reason for the rapid progression of the investigation.

Emphasizing that the increase in Ekrem İmamoğlu's inclusiveness was clearly visible, Aydın Erdem said, "There was an increase in the preference for Ekrem İmamoğlu in the question of who should govern Turkey. It was rising not only among opposition groups but also among undecided voters. Something like this was, in a way, inevitable. They rushed it a bit. The fact that there was only a 24-hour gap between the diploma cancellation and the arrest is also a very striking situation."

'IF ERDOĞAN HAD WAITED, HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT'

Stating that the operation against İmamoğlu has very low legitimacy in the eyes of the public, Erdem explained that the ruling wing would not have been able to take action if they had lost time, using the words, 'If Erdoğan had waited, he would never have been able to do it.'

Aydın Erdem's statement is as follows:

"You are proving it, and on the other hand, I don't want to refrain from saying that the boycott is working.

Some things seem to have been rushed. Because we were already seeing that Ekrem İmamoğlu's inclusiveness was increasing. There was an increase in the rate of preferring Ekrem İmamoğlu in the question of who should govern a fast-paced Turkey, and that was rising across different groups.

'HE RUSHED IT'

He was rising not only among opposition groups but also among undecided voters. It was somewhat clear that something like this was coming. As his inclusiveness increased, it might have become impossible to do this. His legitimacy is already quite low in the eyes of the public even now. If he had become even more inclusive, he would never have been able to do it at all. He rushed it a bit.

In other words, the fact that there was only 24 hours between the diploma cancellation and the arrest is also a very striking situation.

Normally, when we consider Erdoğan's strategy in such situations to date, we would generally expect a certain amount of time to pass in between. But this developed very quickly.

The process that followed is also not being managed very well. Even though propaganda for it is being conducted in the pro-government media, it is clear that, frankly, neither their own voters nor the country as a whole have really bought into it. In a country where the same government has been in power for 22 years, you can generally define protest as an oppositional stance."

News Source: 12punto