Ekrem İmamoğlu vows to resist ‘butlan’ pressure and new party plans from prison

Imprisoned Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu answered questions from journalist Merdan Yanardağ about the CHP’s alleged “absolute nullification” (butlan) process. He said the move is driven by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and described a group that has “seized” Turkey through the judiciary, media and security organs.

İmamoğlu rejected claims that a new party is being formed, urging the opposition to stay united. He stressed that the party congress (kurultay) is both a legal right and a necessity, warning that delaying it would betray the public’s hope. “We will either find a way or make one,” he asserted, promising to continue the struggle for change and to keep the electorate from becoming hopeless or without choice.

His statements highlight internal conflict within the CHP, the persecution of its leaders, and the broader political tension between Erdoğan’s government and the main opposition force.