Istanbul mayor Imamoglu pelted with stones at Turkey opposition rally

Turkish authorities detained more than a dozen people on Monday after violence broke out at an opposition rally in the country’s eastern Erzerum province.

On Sunday, protesters pelted Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s bus with stones, forcing the opposition figure to abruptly end a campaign speech he was delivering in support of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief opponent in upcoming elections, from on top of the vehicle.

Images from the rally showed protesters smashing the bus windows, as well as police dispersing the crowds with water cannons.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayor slammed the attack as a “provocation”, according to Turkey’s Daily Sabah news website.

"Erzurum governor, Erzurum mayor, I will be filing a criminal complaint against you,” Imamoglu is heard saying in footage of the incident, before his bus drove off. 

Sevgili Erzurumlular… bu nedir yaaa ? Siz bundan razı mısınız ? Bu olur mu, olacak şey mi ? Sayın @ekrem_imamoglu mitinginde ortalık kan revan… yazıklar olsun… yakıştı mı bu Erzurum’a ? pic.twitter.com/CEuprZtsdH

— Özlem Gürses (@OzlemGurses) May 7, 2023

The unrest at Imamoglu's rally comes just days before Turkey is set to go to the ballot box. Imamoglu has been promised the post of vice president in a Kilicardoglu-led government.

Officials from Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) dismissed the incident as an attempt to overshadow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rally at Istanbul Airport, which was attended by 1.7 million people.

At the rally, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played a video montage of Kilicdaroglu's campaign mixed with images of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Erdogan's AKP has tried to link the opposition CHP with the Kurdish separatist group, who have called for Turks to vote against Erdogan.

Erdogan also attempted to smear his secularist rivals as "pro-LGBT".

Meanwhile, the CHP has campaigned on a strongly anti-immigrant platform, with Kilicdaroglu pledging to expel the country's 3.5 million Syrian refugees within two years if elected to office.

Polls currently show a tight race between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu, with the vote likely heading to a runoff on May 28.