Ekrem İmamoğlu is a member of the Republican People's Party and served as the Mayor of Beylikdüzü District in 2014, after which he was elected Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2019 and again in 2024.
Ekrem İmamoğlu was taken into custody on March 19, 2025 as part of an investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and subsequently arrested on charges of establishing and leading a criminal organization, extortion, bribery, bid rigging, unlawful recording of personal data, and was taken to the Marmara Penal Institutions Campus, officially known as Marmara Penal Institutions Campus, and Silivri Prison.
In the indictment dated 11.11.2025 issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and publicly known as the “Ekrem İmamoğlu Criminal Organization for Interest Indictment”;
- Ekrem Imamoglu is the leader of a criminal organization for profit,
- A portion of the revenues (-15) generated from tenders, licenses and zoning processes in municipalities are transferred to an organizational “system”,
- That this system serves the purpose not only of material enrichment, but also of taking over the CHP and controlling internal party power,
etc. are included.
As a result of another investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, a criminal case was opened against him on charges of “Forgery of Official Documents” with an “Indictment” dated June 25, 2025 and the prosecution process is ongoing at Istanbul 59th Criminal Court of First Instance.
He is also a defendant in the “Indictment” dated 30.05.2025 of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's investigation into the “shady congress”. The “criminal case” opened with the said “Indictment” continues at the Ankara 26th Criminal Court of First Instance. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and the Chairman of the Supreme Disciplinary Board, Attorney Turan Taşkın Özer, are also suspects in the “shady congress” investigation, and the proceedings for permission to investigate have been sent to the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
Furthermore, in another investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, İmamoğlu was arrested by the Criminal Judicature of Peace on 27.10.2025 on charges of “political espionage”.
Let's leave aside the indictments against İmamoğlu by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
In my opinion, there is a much more important issue, and even because of this issue, I believe that İmamoğlu's status as the “Presidential candidate” of the CHP should be terminated and his CHP membership should be terminated by referring him to the disciplinary board with caution.
In the report of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) dated 17 February 2025, it was determined that İmamoğlu had transferred to Istanbul University, Department of Business Administration in English while studying at Girne American University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Business Management, which was not recognized by YÖK in 1990. However, it was reported that the department he transferred to was not in academic harmony with the originating institution and that the transfer was irregular in terms of both the type of department and grade point average, quota procedures and document accuracy.
In the report dated 17 March 2025 of the Investigation Commission established by the Rectorate of Istanbul University, it was stated that this transfer was made on the basis of a forged document and “pretending to have come from Eastern Mediterranean University”, that a false entry was made in the student registry book, that İmamoğlu made untrue statements in the petition written in his own handwriting, and thus, forgery of official documents and organized fraud were revealed.
With the decision numbered 2025/812 adopted at its meeting dated March 17, 2025, the Board of Directors of Istanbul University decided to cancel the diploma issued in 1994 with the determination that the transfer process carried out in 1990 was irregular and based on forged documents.
Whether the diploma can be canceled or not, the basic rule is whether the applicant misled the administration by providing fraudulent and untrue information. If the applicant has not misled the administration and the administration has taken an erroneous action through its own fault, the period for the annulment of that erroneous administrative action is sixty days. However, if the applicant has misled the administration by resorting to fraudulent means, there is no time limit in this respect. Therefore, this fundamental point will determine the outcome of the annulment of the administrative action filed before the administrative court upon the annulment of the diploma.
Imamoğlu's curriculum vitae on the website of the Republican People's Party states that he studied Civil Engineering at Eastern Mediterranean University in TRNC; after a while, he transferred to Girne American University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Business Administration; and after two years of education in TRNC, he transferred to Istanbul University, Department of Business Administration in English.
However; both the Higher Education Council's report dated February 17, 2025, the letter of Girne American University to the Higher Education Council, and the records of Istanbul University have clearly revealed that this information is completely untrue, and that İmamoğlu was actually studying in the Department of Business Management, which was understood to be a two-year program, and not in the Girne American University Faculty of Communication Department of Business Administration, which was not recognized by the Higher Education Council at that time.
İmamoğlu's statement in the “Indictment” dated June 25, 2025, in which he is accused of “Forgery of Official Documents”, also proves the contradiction and that the CHP was given a false CV.
His testimony is as follows: “During my education life in Cyprus, I first went to Eastern Mediterranean University with the intention of enrolling in the Department of Civil Engineering. Afterwards, I took the level exams of Eastern Mediterranean and Girne American Universities. Since I did not want to study Civil Engineering, I enrolled in the Department of Business Management at Girne American University in 1988. I did not enroll in the Department of Civil Engineering at Eastern Mediterranean University, which was reflected in the press. The information on this subject is incorrect.”
In other words, the real situation has been revealed by his own statement. In other words, he never enrolled in the Department of Civil Engineering at Eastern Mediterranean University; there is no such thing as him changing his enrollment after a while, and he did not study in the Department of Business Administration, but in the Department of Business Management.
Millions of young people labor day and night to win university exams and shape their lives with sacrifices for this cause. Imamoğlu's unethical and unjust transfer to the university and access to the diploma by disregarding the efforts of the sons of the motherland who have earned the university rightfully, points to a situation that should not be accepted in the public conscience and in the eyes of the society.
Despite all these developments, the official website of the Republican People's Party (CHP) continues to publish false biographical information about İmamoğlu. This situation clearly contradicts the CHP's historical weight, dignity, honesty, transparency and accountability to the public.
Even if the investigations and “criminal cases” against him are put aside, it is clear that a person who is understood to have submitted an unrealistic CV to the CHP and obtained a diploma by fraudulently transferring to Istanbul University should not be the “Presidential Candidate of the CHP” and in the context of the concrete evidence that has emerged, it is clear that İmamoğlu's status as the “Presidential Candidate” of the CHP should be terminated by referring him to the disciplinary board as a precautionary measure in accordance with the CHP Statute and Disciplinary Regulation.
For the reasons stated, I submitted a petition to the Republican People's Party Headquarters on 25.06.2025, requesting that a disciplinary investigation be initiated against party member Ekrem İmamoğlu in accordance with the provisions of the CHP Party Charter and Disciplinary Regulations and that he be referred to the Party's High Disciplinary Board with a request for definitive expulsion.
Despite all these concrete circumstances, introducing İmamoğlu to the public as the CHP's presidential candidate without going through the disciplinary process is not only an internal party action, but also an action directly related to public order.
Far from taking any disciplinary action against İmamoğlu, who has been accused of the aforementioned serious crimes and criminal cases have been opened against him, Party Chairman Özgür Özel and those responsible for organizing “Rallies” on his behalf, including me, according to the news in the media, have arbitrarily and unlawfully expelled more than 1000 CHP members from the Party with arbitrary procedures and decisions.
In this context, the deliberate failure of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and Party officials to take action against İmamoğlu, when concrete evidence has been presented, should be considered as a behavior that damages the public conscience and violates their duty responsibilities.
In addition, the indictments strengthen the suspicion that the assertion that Ekrem İmamoğlu's Criminal Organization for the Purpose of Interest has taken over the CHP corresponds to reality.