Ekrem Imamoğlu, former mayor of Istanbul who was arrested in March on charges of corruption, joined 86 suspects set to be questioned by prosecutors in a probe over vote-buying allegations at an intraparty election of his Republican People’s Party (CHP). Media outlets reported on Tuesday that Imamoğlu will testify at the Istanbul prison he was held in the separate corruption probe over the CHP’s 2023 election overshadowed with allegations.
The probe focuses on allegations that the party’s incumbent chair, Özgür Özel, who was supported by influential Imamoğlu in the 2023 election, paid bribes to CHP delegates to vote for him in the race where he ran against longtime leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Investigators sought reports from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and information on the wealth of suspects in the investigation, which was launched by complaints from former CHP delegates. Former delegates claimed senior figures of the CHP supporting Özel offered them cash, jobs, houses and even smartphones to swing their votes to Özel.
Sabah newspaper reported on Tuesday that the investigators were also looking into allegations by the CHP’s former chair for the eastern province of Bitlis. Veysi Uyanık told investigators that he was invited to Istanbul one week before the 2023 election by Özgür Karabat, a CHP lawmaker for Istanbul, and met Karabat, Imamoğlu and another CHP official. Uyanık said Imamoğlu asked him to support Özel and later Karabat handed him TL 100,000 to be delivered to other delegates in exchange for votes for the CHP chair.