Do we like them?

Do we like Ekrem İmamoğlu?

Our score: 7 out of 10. A decent public record on the right side of democracy, held back by his 2019 remarks on Syrian refugees and by how little we found on LGBTQ+ rights.

Imamoğlu is the man Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in power for 23 years, most wants off the ballot. He was arrested on 19 March 2025, which set off weeks of the biggest street protests Turkey had seen in over a decade. Days later his party, the CHP, picked him as its candidate for the presidential election due in 2028.

The main case is enormous: prosecutors allege he led a criminal organisation that committed 142 offences over a decade, mostly tender rigging, plus alleged bribery and extortion. There are 407 defendants, and prosecutors are seeking more than 2,000 years in total. Human Rights Watch calls the case politically motivated and points to secret witnesses and defendants seeking reduced sentences. He rejects the charges, and the government insists the judiciary is independent.

It isn't the only case. He is separately charged over alleged political espionage, which he denies, and is on trial over an alleged forged university diploma, after Istanbul University cancelled it the day before his arrest. He also has earlier convictions for insulting election officials and a public official, which are under appeal. None of the corruption, espionage or diploma charges has been decided, so alleged is the word.

On the harm check, the record is mixed but not damning. One critical column says that after his 2019 win he described Syrians working off the books as a threat to locals' livelihoods and said they “cannot change Istanbul's colour recklessly”. The same piece notes he later wrote in favour of diversity and better refugee integration. On LGBTQ+ rights we found no strong statement either way from him, and no campaigning against anyone's rights.

The latest chapter is his defence in the Silivri mass trial, where he accuses the ruling party of an $85 billion zoning giveaway. The CHP leader Özgür Özel calls the whole trial purely political. Where you land depends on whether you read the case as a corruption crackdown or an attempt to keep a rival out of the race. Rights groups lean to the second reading, and the government rejects it.

On the good side, his Istanbul municipality has opened 111 city-run daycare centres. These are the kind of service that helps women get back to work. He has also said that if his candidacy is blocked, the opposition should unite behind someone else, which suggests he cares more about the cause than his own name on the ballot.