Istanbul, May 7 – The opposition mayor of Istanbul and potential vice-presidential candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu, boycotted his rally in Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, after being stoned.
Imamoglu arrived in Erzurum on Sunday for an election rally, and earlier that day he organized rallies in Sivas and Çorum. The mayor posted on Twitter a video of the buses ahead of the Erzurum rally, claiming that the mayor’s office deliberately placed them at the site to interfere with the event.
Shortly after the start of the rally, Imamoglu, who was speaking on the roof of the bus, was pelted with stones by unknown persons. The mayor stopped the parade and got on the bus, after which he left the site.
Commenting on HalkTV, Imamoglu later stated that he “saw 10-15 victims thrown with stones”. He also indicated that he did not consider the attackers to be residents of Erzurum. Imamoglu said he called on the provincial governor to resign over the incident.
Imamoglu claims to be one of the seven vice presidents in case the presidential candidate from seven opposition parties, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, wins.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in Türkiye on May 14. The main opponent of the current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – the only candidate from the “Republican Alliance” – is the only candidate from the opposition “People’s Alliance” Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Memleket party leader Muharrem Ince and Atta Sinan Ogan’s coalition candidate are also running. The second round of the presidential election, in the event that no candidate receives 50% of the vote, is scheduled for May 28.
