Imamoglu says he turned into a nightmare for Erdogan

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said he has turned into a nightmare for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Blasting Erdogan of trying to eliminate him with conspiracy and blackmail in fear of losing the election, Imamoglu said they are taking all necessary precautions against all sorts of despicably thoughts for the upcoming elections.

“He forgets that I am someone astonishingly brave and several times more talented than them. From now on, my only advice to the president is that he designs the election field with valor,” Imamoglu told Cumhuriyet newspaper on Thursday.

A Turkish court last week has sentenced Imamoglu to 2 years, 7 months and 15 days in prison on charges of insulting the members of a top election board. The court also banned him from politics, a decision which needs to be finalized by the supreme court in order to be implemented.

Turkey’s popular opposition mayor’s name is among the strongest possible presidency candidates to run against Erdogan in next year’s presidential elections, according to leading polls.

“Every intervention in democracy blocks Turkey's path. We must fail this. This applies to all unlawful decisions. Our friends are behind bars, [Selahattin] Demirtas is behind bars,” Imamoglu said.