Overview

• Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, jailed since March on corruption charges he denies, has seen his popular support rise above President Erdogan in recent polls by Metropoll and Konda.
• The detention of Imamoglu and over 100 municipal officials has triggered Turkey's largest protests in a decade, with opposition groups denouncing the actions as politically motivated.
• Economic instability continues, with the lira sliding sharply and the central bank intervening through rate hikes and suspension of repo auctions to calm markets.
• The government maintains that the judiciary is independent, rejecting accusations of politicized prosecutions despite criticism from European leaders and rights organizations.
• The opposition CHP has launched a petition for early elections and judicial reform, gathering over 13 million signatures as political polarization intensifies between Erdogan's AKP and Imamoglu's CHP.