Turkey's opposition pushes for early polls as protests go on

The Turkish opposition on March 31 worked to keep up the momentum of the protest movement triggered when Istanbul's mayor was arrested by pushing for early elections and his release, with a Swedish reporter the latest detained in a government crackdown.

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ISTANBUL -

The arrest on March 19 of Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, on corruption charges his supporters say are false, sparked the most significant anti-government protests in Turkey in over a decade in a major test for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

After over a week of night-time street protests, the Republican People's Party (CHP) on March 29 mobilized hundreds of thousands of people for a giant rally in Istanbul calling for the release of Imamoglu.

He was seen as the candidate with the best chance of defeating Mr Erdogan at the ballot box after almost a quarter of a century in power with the President showing no sign of wishing to step aside ahead of elections due by 2028.

With Turkey entering several days of a public holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month, the opposition has vowed to keep up the protest movement while switching tactics to more focused events.

Mr Ozgur Ozel, a former pharmacist who has stepped in as the CHP's main public flagbearer while Imamoglu languishes in Silivri prison in Istanbul, launched a campaign to gather signatures for a petition calling for the mayor's release and early elections.