Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said in an interview today that Turkey’s local elections to be held in March will send a message to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government about the Turkish people’s desire for “democracy, justice and the rule of law.”

The 52-year-old Imamoglu, who will again be the candidate of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the March 31 election, acknowledged that his re-election will be more difficult than his first victory in 2019, as the opposition parties are not in an alliance this time. time against candidates of Erdogan’s ruling Justice Party (AKP).

However, Imamoglu – who rules the Turkish metropolis and is among the most prominent figures in the main opposition party across the country – told Reuters he was confident of defeating his new political rival, the AKP candidate.

“We want to see and experience a process in which this city can send its messages to Turkey regarding democracy, justice and the rule of law,” Imamoglu said.

“If that happens, of course, a lot of messages will be sent to the government. Let’s let them worry about that,” he said.

Imamoglu’s election in the previous local elections in 2019 ended 25 years of rule of Istanbul by AKP elites – and by Erdogan himself who was the city’s mayor from 1994 to 1998 – and his Islamist predecessors.

Last May, Erdogan was re-elected as Turkey’s president, while the AKP and its allies won a majority in parliamentary elections, demonstrating the challenge facing the opposition in the March 31 election.

The CHP and other opposition parties, including the nationalist IYI and the pro-Kurdish DEM, have not agreed to run joint candidates in the major cities, many of which they won having allied in the 2019 elections.

“The fact is that these will be more difficult than the previous elections,” Imamoglu said.