ISTANBUL, March 23, (AP): A court formally arrested the mayor of Istanbul and key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan early on Sunday and ordered him jailed pending the outcome of a trial on corruption charges. Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was detained following a raid to his residence earlier this week, sparking the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade. It also deepened concerns over democracy and rule of law in Turkey.

His imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major contender from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028. Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently.

The formal arrest came as his opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Imamoglu as its presidential candidate despite the arrest. The party has also set up symbolic ballot boxes nationwide - called "solidarity boxes” - to allow people who are not party members to express their support to the mayor.