2025 Republican People's Party presidential primary

In 2025 the Republican People's Party chose Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, as their candidate for the next Turkish presidential election. He was arrested the same day and charged with corruption, leading to major protests.

Following the defeat of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, then the Republican People's Party (CHP) leader, to the incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential election the party discussed what to do. Eventually they elected a new leader, Özgür Özel, and in the 2024 local elections took control of several city councils. Mayors of the governing conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost to the social democratic CHP’s Mansur Yavaş in the capital Ankara, and to İmamoğlu in the largest city Istanbul.

As the government might call the next presidential election before its 2028 deadline, the CHP decided to hold a primary in March 2025 to choose their candidate. After some public and private politicking Özel and Yavaş decided not to stand. Following the withdrawal of minor candidate Dursun Çiçek for family reasons, only İmamoğlu was left in the primary.

The constitution requires the president to have graduated from higher education, but a few days before the primary Istanbul University cancelled İmamoğlu’s degree. The CHP accused the government of pressuring the university, and asked all Turks to symbolically vote for democracy in the primary. On the morning of the day of the primary İmamoğlu was arrested and later charged with corruption. The government says that the justice system is independent of the president, but many disagree. Almost all of the 1.7 million CHP members voted, along with 13.8 million other people. As of late-March 2025 İmamoğlu remains the party’s presidential candidate and is in prison awaiting trial.