Majority of Turks against appointing trustee mayor to Istanbul to replace İmamoğlu

According to a recent survey, some 66.4 percent of Turkish citizens said that they are against appointing a trustee mayor to the Istanbul Municipality to replace Ekrem İmamoğlu. A court sentenced İmamoğlu to two years and seven months in prison and imposed a political ban on charges of insulting members of Turkey's High Election Board (YSK).

Friday February 03 2023 03:05 pm

A large crowd gathering around Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu during his visit to the northwestern province of Bursa on Jan. 27

Duvar English

Some 66.4 percent of Turkish citizens said that they are against appointing a trustee mayor to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to replace Ekrem İmamoğlu, according to a newly conducted poll by Metropoll Research.

The results of the survey were shared by journalist İsmail Saymaz on Halk TV.

When asked “do you find it right to appoint a trustee mayor to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality?”, 66.4 percent of the respondents said “no,” while 25.5 said “yes.”

Accordingly, 43.9 percent of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) supporters said “no” to the question, whereas this figure was 54.2 for the government-ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supporters.

Moreover, 59.8 percent of the respondents found the conviction of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu “not fair,” whereas 30.7 percent said they found it “fair.”

A Turkish court on Dec. 14 sentenced Mayor İmamoğlu from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to two years and seven months in prison on charges of “insulting” 11 members of Turkey's High Election Board (YSK). The court also imposed a political ban on İmamoğlu, a popular rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which must be confirmed by an appeals court before application.