Barring Istanbul mayor from presidential bid would only boost opposition party leader says

ISTANBUL - Turkeys main opposition leader said on Thursday any move to legally bar Istanbuls detained mayor from running for president would only strengthen support for their party, and that any candidate would beat President Tayyip Erdogan in elections.

In an interview with Reuters a day after Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogans chief political rival, was detained and charged, Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP),said Erdogan feared any future vote.

Erdogan wants to appoint a trustee to replace Imamoglu, also from the CHP, and sever the oppositions ties with Turkeys largest city, Ozel said, in his first interview with foreign media since the mayors detention.

But the opposition would stage the strongest democratic reaction to any such move, Ozel said, speaking at the Istanbul Municipality headquarters building where he said he would remain until the mayor is released.

Imamoglu, seen as the CHPs best hope to unseat Erdogan after 22 years running Turkey, was taken in on Wednesday facing charges of graft and aiding a terrorist group, a move that the opposition condemned as a coup attempt and that sparked nationwide demonstrations. REUTERS

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