A Turkish court has sentenced the mayor of Istanbul to two years and seven months in jail after he insulted top election officials from the country’s Supreme Electoral Council (YSK).
Sentenced on Wednesday, December 14, Ekrem Imamoglu the leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was also disqualified which could see him removed from office.
The CHP politician, who is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest rival, is expected to appeal the court decision, according to reports in the daily ‘Hurriyet’.
Imamoglu has denied insulting council members in previous hearings and that his words in response to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. He is reported to have called Soylu an “idiot.”
Imamoglu and the YSK have crossed swords before, with the latter having rejected the results from the March 2019 election. At the time he won by a slim majority over an Erdogan ally, but after the YSK ordered the election be rerun he won by a large majority.
That result was seen as a major setback for the president and the ruling party.
The sentencing of the mayor for insulting election officials comes when the country is gearing up for presidential elections in 2023. The disqualification of Imamoglu will be a major boost for the Erdogan re-election campaign.
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