Turkey's Bahceli and Ozel advocate for prompt trials in prominent, high-profile cases
In a series of developments, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, has urged for faster judicial action in the ongoing legal disputes involving municipalities, particularly the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM).
The investigations centering on the IMM have intensified, focusing on corruption and tender rigging involving IMM subsidiaries and opposition officials. This escalation follows key testimonies from a cooperating businessman, revealing extensive bribery and tender-rigging schemes that implicated mayors and senior municipal staff from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The politically charged situation reached a peak with the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the prominent opposition mayor of Istanbul and CHP’s presidential candidate, on March 23, 2025. Imamoglu's arrest, widely seen as politically motivated, triggered significant protests and political tension, reflecting the deepening polarization in Turkey.
The CHP leadership has characterized the legal process as a politically driven campaign of repression, alleging corruption probes are being exploited by certain prosecutors and lawyers for extortion. This has led to claims of an “IBB borsası” (IMM stock market) where favorable outcomes are bought with money and false testimony.
The ongoing judicial processes target the strongest political rival of President Erdoğan, shaping the pre-election landscape by weakening opposition governance in major municipalities. The broad scope of investigations and arrests—including multiple CHP mayors and officials—has raised concerns domestically and internationally about rule of law, judicial independence, and the instrumentalization of the legal system for political gains.
Bahceli has called for indictments in the IMM investigations to be prepared "without delay" and for proceedings to conclude swiftly. He has also supported the idea of live courtroom broadcasts in principle, but has not specifically named TRT (the state television broadcaster) in his statements.
Ozgur Ozel, leader of the Republican People's Party, described Bahceli’s remarks as valuable and urged for indictments and proceedings to move to the trial stage. However, as the judicial calendar prepares to resume, the fate of the cases, and their potential political fallout, remains unresolved.
The prolonged proceedings against Imamoglu are seen as risking political damage to the government. Bahceli's calls for accelerated judicial proceedings are tied to his goal of completing the government's "terror-free Turkey" initiative by the end of 2025, the risk of public backlash if investigations fail to produce substantive evidence, and the potential threat of a shift in public opinion.
Since late 2024, sweeping investigations targeting CHP-led municipalities have resulted in dozens of arrests, including sitting mayors, and hundreds of detentions. Both Imamoglu and Ozel, the leader of the Republican People's Party, have called for the trials to be broadcast live on state television.
The most politically charged case centers on the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). The situation reflects a broader political context of judicial pressure on opposition municipalities, impacting Turkey’s political stability and electoral dynamics.
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- The government of Turkey, led by Devlet Bahceli of the Nationalist Movement Party, is urging for faster judicial action in the ongoing legal disputes involving municipalities, particularly the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM).
- The political tension in Turkey reached a peak when Ekrem Imamoglu, the opposition mayor of Istanbul and CHP’s presidential candidate, was arrested on March 23, 2025, a move widely seen as politically motivated.
- The ongoing judicial processes in Turkey, such as those targeting the IMM, are raising concerns domestically and internationally about rule of law, judicial independence, and the instrumentalization of the legal system for political gains.
- The prolonged proceedings against Imamoglu are seen as risking political damage to the Turkish government, with Bahceli calling for accelerated judicial proceedings to complete the government's "terror-free Turkey" initiative by the end of 2025.
- The ongoing investigations and arrests, including those in the IMM case, are impacting Turkey’s political stability and electoral dynamics, reflecting a broader political context of judicial pressure on opposition municipalities. [Source 1, 2, 3, 4]
