Istanbul’s imprisoned mayor and main opposition (CHP) presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has been in prison since March 19. The mayor was convicted earlier this month of “threatening and insulting” Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, with several additional cases still pending. İmamoğlu gave an exclusive interview to Medyascope Editor-in-Chief Ruşen Çakır via letter.

In a surprising departure from his party’s historical stance, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of Turkey’s ultranationalist MHP, launched a “Kurdish peace process” earlier this year. He did so in coordination with leaders of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party—a group that has long been the MHP’s staunch political adversary. Unlike past initiatives, this effort has seen unprecedented success, culminating in the formal dissolution of the PKK—a group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU—and delivering a major political win for the ruling coalition. The process has attracted bipartisan support and aims to end decades of armed conflict. Çakır asked İmamoğlu for his take:

İmamoğlu: From the start, both my party and I supported what the government now calls “Terror-Free Turkey.” As a matter of principle, we believe terrorism must be ended through democratic politics—not violence. This aligns with our values and our belief in principled leadership.

But our support hasn’t been passive. We made two key recommendations: First, conduct the process transparently and through Parliament—not behind closed doors. Second, while laying down arms, restore democracy. Using the judiciary to harass opposition figures while negotiating with others behind the scenes is unacceptable. That’s why our party proposed a parliamentary commission called “Terror-Free and Democratic Turkey.”

Despite our efforts, the government ignored our proposals, continued its secretive approach, and escalated legal harassment against our mayors and party officials.

Here’s what we’ve concluded: the government’s true goal is to exploit the peace process to pressure the DEM Party and Kurdish voters—saying, “Look what we’re doing for you”—while postponing real reforms until after the 2028 elections. It’s a strategy to divide and weaken the opposition.

Let me be clear: We won’t play along. We will never allow this authoritarian system to become permanent. And to my fellow citizens: rest assured—we will rid Turkey of both terrorism and this regime. We’ll resolve the Kurdish issue, and we’ll build a prosperous........

© Medyascope