Istanbul's opposition-run municipal council on Wednesday elected an interim mayor to run the city, broadcaster NTV said, after mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu was jailed pending trial over graft charges.
The 314-member Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) council, where the CHP holds a majority, elected the party's Nuri Aslan to run the city with 177 votes, according to NTV.
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) candidate Zeynel Abidin Okul, on the other hand, received 125 votes.
The interim mayor will run the city for the remainder of Imamoğlu's term, as he awaits trial.
The CHP holds 185 seats in the IBB council, while the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), both members of the People’s Alliance, has a combined 126 members.
The Great Unity Party (BBP), once aligned with the AK Party, has two seats, while one seat is retained by an independent member.
Earlier this week, a Turkish court arrested Imamoğlu on corruption charges and sent him to Silivri, a massive prison-courthouse complex on the city’s European side.
The judges ruled out a second arrest verdict on charges of aiding the PKK terrorist group.
Along with Imamoğlu, 50 other suspects in the same cases were taken to prison after their questioning and other legal proceedings at the main courthouse of the city in the Çağlayan quarters.
Tight security measures are in place around the courthouse and on the Silivri compound.
The CHP had called the public to take to the streets to protest the mayor’s arrest and subsequent protests escalated into violent riots.
