Ekrem İmamoğlu, the candidate of the Republican People's Party, Turkey's main opposition party, announced his victory in the mayoral elections of Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey. He stated that he is ahead by more than a million votes after 96% of the ballots were counted. In a speech to his supporters late Sunday, İmamoğlu said, "We achieved victory in the city’s mayoral elections," adding, "Those who do not understand the people's message will ultimately lose."
**Who is İmamoğlu?**
- He is 53 years old.
- Born in the village of Cevizli in the Akçabat district of Trabzon Province.
- He studied at Istanbul University and graduated from the Business Administration department in 1994.
- He is married and has three children.
- His father was a founding member of the Motherland Party branch led by the late Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal in Trabzon, according to the BBC.
- He is a former businessman who entered politics in 2008.
- Analysts view him as a potential presidential candidate.
- He became the mayor of Beylikdüzü in Istanbul ten years ago.
- He took over as mayor of Istanbul in 2019 after a fierce competition against Binali Yıldırım, the candidate of the Justice and Development Party.
- In 2019, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for insulting officials, and the appeals court has not yet ruled on the case.
- Last year, another court opened a case against İmamoğlu for allegedly manipulating tenders, as reported by Reuters.
- He is being tried for allegedly falsifying a financial contract at the end of 2015 while he was the mayor of Beylikdüzü, which he denies.
- He served on the board of directors of the "Trabzonspor" club between 2002 and 2003.
