Istanbul Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu speaks at the 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day celebrations held at the Maltepe Event Area on May 19, 2023 on Istanbul, Turkey.
Hakan Akgun | Getty Images
The Turkish lira fell to a record low against the dollar and the country’s benchmark stock index dropped by as much as 7% following the surprise arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — a rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leading opposition party figure — on charges he denies.
The lira was trading as low as 40.96 to the U.S. dollar, according to Refinitiv data, before moving to 38.74 by 12:47 p.m. in Istanbul, with the greenback up 5.53% on the long-embattled Turkish currency. The BIST 100 stock index had pared losses after being down as much as 7% earlier in the morning.
Imamoglu, who won the mayorship of Turkey’s most populous city in April of 2023, was arrested on charges including terrorism and organized crime, according to state media outlet Anadolu, which cited the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The news agency reported that prosecutors also issued warrants for 100 other people.
The popular 53-year-old mayor was seen as the next opposition party candidate for the Turkish presidency. Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), Turkey’s main opposition party, was set to hold a primary election on March 23, during which Imamoglu was widely expected to emerge as the group’s presidential candidate.
In a statement, the CHP flatly rejected the charges against Imamoglu, calling the move a coup.
“Making decisions on behalf of the people, using force to replace the will of the people or to obstruct it is a coup,” Ozgur Ozel, CHP chairman, wrote in a Google-translated post on the X social media platform.
“There is currently a force in place to prevent the nation from determining the next president. We are faced with a coup attempt against our next president.”
CNBC has contacted the Office of the Turkish Presidency for comment.