Istanbul council elects interim mayor after İmamoğlu’s detention

On March 26th, officials in Istanbul elected an interim replacement for the city’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently in custody facing corruption charges.

According to The National, members of the municipal council, which represents Istanbul’s 16 million residents, selected Deputy Chairman Nur Aslan as the interim mayor.

İmamoğlu, who was detained last week, is being held at a prison west of Istanbul. He faces multiple accusations, including accepting bribes, misconduct in office, unlawfully recording personal data, and involvement in bid rigging. İmamoğlu denies all of the charges.

The 314-member municipal council, composed of district mayors and councillors, is the primary decision-making body for Istanbul, Turkey’s economic and cultural hub.

The vote to select an interim mayor followed İmamoğlu’s remand in custody on March 23rd, after he was detained in a house raid.

Critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan argue that İmamoğlu’s arrest is politically motivated, as he is widely viewed as a strong potential challenger to Erdoğan in future presidential elections.

Just hours before his arrest, İmamoğlu had been chosen by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) as their candidate for the 2028 presidential race.

The Turkish government, however, denies the accusations of political manipulation, stating that the rule of law is being upheld in the case.

The Istanbul Municipal Council, which is controlled by political opposition to President Erdoğan’s government, is typically led by the city’s elected mayor.

The council operates on a five-year term, aligned with the term of the mayor, who is chosen through local elections. The next mayoral election is set to take place in 2029.

The newly appointed Istanbul interim mayor, Nur Aslan, is a naval engineer by education. He has been actively involved in Istanbul’s local politics since the late 1990s, serving as a district councillor in several districts across the city. Since April 2024, Aslan has held the position of deputy chairman of the city council.

The National