Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), criticized the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), for politicizing the case against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu. At a news conference on Thursday in the capital, Ankara, Çelik said the courts, “not politicians,” would decide in the case against Imamoğlu, who is accused of corruption and aiding terrorists.
He shunned commenting on the case, unlike CHP Chair Özgür Özel, and said they were not aware of the contents of the case the Istanbul mayor and other suspects faced, but “we will observe the legal proceedings.”
Çelik stated that the legal accusations were something already voiced by members of the CHP itself. "Mr. Özel should speak his mind about those allegations, especially those about CHP-run municipalities. Is he willing to defend them against (allegations of corruption)? The CHP is mismanaged and in crisis," he said.
He also criticized the CHP for portraying its intraparty election to nominate Imamoğlu as a presidential candidate as "an election for Türkiye." "This is not democracy. This is equal to running a parallel state," Çelik added.
