The party of Istanbul’s imprisoned mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, re-elected its leader on Sunday.
Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), elected Ozgur Ozel as its chairman at a party congress in Ankara.
According to foreign media, as reported by Telegrafi, 50-year-old Ozel was re-elected with a landslide majority, securing 1,171 votes out of 1,276 cast, according to the Anka News Agency, which is considered close to the opposition.
Ozel faced no challengers.
The CHP has led anti-government protests in Turkey since Imamoglu was arrested, removed from office, and imprisoned last month on charges of corruption and terrorism.
Seven other CHP mayors have also been arrested and dismissed.
The protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people, including large student groups.
The CHP claims the Turkish government falsified the charges against Imamoglu, who is seen as the main challenger to Erdogan in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 2028.
The CHP convened Sunday’s extraordinary congress after concerns that Turkish authorities would appoint a trusted administrator to lead the party following a criminal investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding its last summit two years ago.
After his re-election, Ozel vowed at a nearby rally that the party would organize new protests against Imamoglu’s imprisonment in various cities every weekend, as well as regular demonstrations in Istanbul.
He stated that more than 7 million people have signed the CHP’s petition calling for early elections.
Last month, the party selected Imamoglu as its presidential candidate in an internal vote, with nearly 15 million people supporting his candidacy, according to party officials.
