About 15 million participants in the primaries nominated Imamoglu as a candidate for president of Turkey

Nearly 15 million participants in the primaries of the opposition Republican People's Party (SNR) of Turkey on Sunday, March 23, chose the arrested mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, as a candidate for participation in the likely early presidential elections.

"More than 14 million 850 thousand people voted for Imamoglu in the primary elections (primaries) held today," said SNR leader Ozgur Ozel, speaking at a protest rally in Istanbul. His words are quoted by the VirGun portal.

Imamoglu is the only candidate for the elections from the largest opposition party and is considered the main opponent of the current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Earlier in the day, it was reported that due to the leak of data on the decision on Imamoglu, a decision was made to arrest him for financial crimes and reject the application for arrest for charges related to terrorism.

Law enforcement agencies issued a warrant for Imamoglu's detention on March 19. According to media reports, an anti-corruption operation has been launched against the Istanbul administration. It concerns the holding of city tenders, as well as clarifying the details of the interaction of opposition officials with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

Later, mass protests began in Turkey in connection with the mayor's detention. The day before, it was reported that police in Istanbul used tear gas against protesters. On March 20, the Turkish Interior Minister announced that six policemen had been injured during a protest in Istanbul. Rallies were also held in Ankara.