Ekrem İmamoğlu

In December 2022, Ekrem İmamoğlu was sentenced to more than two years' imprisonment and a political ban for calling election officials "fools" following the annulment of Istanbul's 2019 municipal election. The case became a central issue regarding his future eligibility.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Personally implicated

Istanbul University annulled İmamoğlu's degree in March 2025, a qualification required to stand for president. Separate criminal proceedings subsequently accused him of using an allegedly forged degree. In January 2026, a court dismissed his challenge to the administrative annulment.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

İmamoğlu has been detained since March 2025 in an extensive corruption case involving Istanbul municipality. Prosecutors accuse him, among other things, of leading a criminal organisation involved in corruption, bid-rigging and illicit enrichment; the trial of several hundred defendants opened in March 2026.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

In October 2025, a court ordered İmamoğlu's arrest in a new investigation into "political espionage" while he was already detained. The prosecution alleges, in particular, that a corruption scheme had been used to finance his path towards the presidency and that he had sought international support through means characterised as espionage.

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following a January 2025 press conference in which İmamoğlu criticised an expert involved in several municipal cases, prosecutors brought proceedings for attempting to influence a judicial expert. The case remained pending in July 2026.

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following statements targeting Istanbul chief prosecutor Akın Gürlek, İmamoğlu was prosecuted and sentenced to imprisonment in July 2025 for insults and threats. However, he was acquitted of the separate charge of "targeting" an official involved in counterterrorism.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Personally implicated

İmamoğlu was prosecuted for "bid-rigging" over a contract awarded in 2015 when he headed Beylikdüzü, with imprisonment and a political ban sought. On 24 October 2025, the court acquitted him, finding that the elements of the offence had not been established.

Legal status — source text

Acquitted / conviction overturned

Attribution

Personally implicated

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Alongside the March 2025 corruption investigation, prosecutors accused İmamoğlu of knowingly participating in the electoral arrangement known as "Kent Uzlaşısı" and, through it, assisting the PKK/KCK by cooperating with figures linked to the pro-Kurdish DEM movement during the 2024 municipal elections.

State of the evidence

Alleged

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following İmamoğlu's narrow victory in the election of 31 March 2019, the Supreme Election Council annulled Istanbul's municipal election after AKP appeals, citing irregularities including the composition of polling station committees. The decision triggered a democratic crisis and a rerun, which İmamoğlu won by a wider margin.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated