By HADIZA MOHAMMED
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ISTANBUL- Prosecutors in Istanbul demanded four years in prison and a political ban for the city’s opposition party mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, in a case in which he stands accused of insulting state officials.
The prosecutors on Friday said if he gets a prison sentence of one year or more, or a political ban, İmamoğlu, considered a potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in next year’s elections, will have to step down.
The court postponed a verdict to December 14, İmamoğlu’s Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) said.
İmamoğlu is accused of calling members of the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) “fools” during a November 2019 speech, according to an indictment seen by dpa.
His office denies the charges.
İmamoğlu narrowly won the March 2019 mayoral election against a close aide of Erdoğan.
He won in a rerun in June 2019 by an even larger margin, after the YSK annulled the original result from March. (dpa/NAN)