Turkiye opposition is stepping up campaign against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after unpopular arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. As nationwide demonstrations go on, opposition is now demanding for early elections and the immediate release of the mayor.
Detained on March 19 over corruption allegations his supporters claim are politically motivated, Imamoglu has become the symbol of the most significant anti-government demonstrations in over a decade. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) drew hundreds of thousands in Istanbul to its streets on March 29 to demand justice and stake a new policy of more structured nationwide protests.
CHP chief Ozgur Ozel, who is leading the movement, started petitioning campaign from Imamoglu’s hometown as arrest a clear attempt to neutralize the only powerful political challenger of President Erdogan. 
As worries around the world continued to rise, Swedish journalist Joakim Medin was arrested while reporting on protests and slapped with terror-related charges and charges of “insulting the president. His detention has sparked criticism from Sweden’s foreign minister and EU officials, adding further tension to Turkiye’s diplomatic ties.
Though the authorities carry on with collective arrests and police violence against protesters, opposition leaders have promised not to falter in their efforts to mobilise. “This country will be as democratic as Germany”, Ozel declared reaffirming the movement’s beliefs in political change. Protests are expected to take place in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces, the movement is not going to die down anytime soon.
