Sawt Falasteen - Imamoglu: Istanbul's powerful mayor and Erdogan's biggest rival

After a sensational entry into politics in 2019 when he was elected mayor of Turkey's economic powerhouse, Imamoglu quickly became a key figure within the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

But his career has been overshadowed by a string of what critics say are politically-motivated legal cases designed to cripple his plans to contest Turkey's 2028 presidential election.

The latest blow came Tuesday when Istanbul University revoked his degree -- a high-stakes move as Turkish presidential candidates must have a higher education diploma.

"The days are coming when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice," Imamoglu wrote on X.

Widely seen as best placed to challenge Erdogan in 2023, Imamoglu didn't run after being hamstrung by an unresolved defamation conviction.

Since then, his legal woes have multiplied with three new probes targeting him this year alone. He decried them as "the highest level of judicial harassment".

His re-election as mayor last year despite Erdogan's best efforts to unseat him, has cemented the popularity of the football-loving 53-year-old who is likely to be formally named as CHP's presidential candidate on Sunday.

- From businessman to mayor -

Born in Akcaabat, a seaside town on Turkey's Black Sea coast, Imamoglu moved to Istanbul as a teenager.

He studied business, then went to work in the construction industry.

He was a political unknown until he managed to unseat Erdogan's AKP and its allies in 2019 from their 25-year dominance of the city of 16 million where the president was once himself mayor.

As Erdogan's own career path has shown, running the megalopolis is a tried-and-tested route to national power.

Initially stripped of victory when the vote was annulled, he won by an even bigger margin in a re-run three months later.

"You have opened the door to a new future. From now, Turkey will be a different country," he told his ecstatic followers at the time.

His emergence in 2019 came as a wave of anti-Erdogan sentiment ushered in a fresh generation of leaders from the staunchly secular CHP, including a new mayor of the capital Ankara.

- Legal cases stack up -

In 2022, Imamoglu was convicted of defamation for calling Istanbul election officials "idiots" and sentenced to two years and seven months in jail.

He appealed, but the outcome remains pending, with the ever-present jail threat prompting the CHP not to field him as a candidate for the 2023 presidential poll.

In November, Erdogan sued Imamoglu for slander, raising the prospect he could be prosecuted for insulting the president -- an offence carrying up to four years in jail which has been widely used to silence rivals, journalists, human rights defenders and members of the public.

In January, prosecutors opened two new probes over his remarks about Istanbul's chief prosecutor and a court-appointed expert witness used in cases against CHP-run municipalities.

- Widespread appeal -

"Imamoglu is an effective political operator... (who) represents one of the very few glimmers of hope for constituents who oppose Erdogan and the AKP," said Anthony Skinner, director of research at geopolitical advisory firm Marlow Global.

A practising Muslim in a secular party, the smooth-talking politician has won support from a wide spectrum of voters.

"He can attract all segments of the opposition electorate, whether it's Turkish or Kurdish, Sunni or Alevi, young or old," said Berk Esen, a political scientist at Istanbul's Sabanci University.

And he has trodden a careful line on sensitive issues, such as same-sex marriage which is illegal in Turkey.

"I'm a person who respects freedoms and... we have a responsibility to protect the lives and freedoms of our gay citizens... But our society is not yet ready to allow same-sex marriage," he said in a 2020 TV interview.

Close aides say he had won respect for his direct answers and willingness to wade into tough debates.

"Imamoglu communicates well with the public -- he gives sincere answers and can easily connect with people," Sukru Kucuksahin, who worked with him on the 2019 election campaign, told AFP.

But like Erdogan, Imamoglu also has something of a "Black Sea temperament", he said, referring to people known for being blunt and often very stubborn.

Imamoglu has not been embraced by all of the opposition, with some saying he's more interested in his own career than his constituents.

H.Jarrar--SF-PST