ISTANBUL ¨C Popular support for Ekrem Imamoglu, the Istanbul mayor whose arrest sparked Turkey¡¯s largest protests in a decade, has risen further above President Tayyip Erdogan since he was detained and jailed in March, opinion polls show.
Two surveys released in recent days suggest that Imamoglu¡¯s detention on March 19 has also reinforced views that he is Erdogan¡¯s main rival in any future presidential vote, even as he sits behind bars.
The mayor was jailed on March 23 pending a hearing on corruption charges that he denies ¡ª a move that the opposition and some European leaders called politicized and anti-democratic, and which accelerated nationwide rallies.
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