Coronavirus rekindles tension between Erdogan, Istanbul mayor

ANKARA - The coronavirus pandemic has stoked the rivalry between President Tayyip Erdogan and Istanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, largely seen as a possible future candidate for the presidency.

A coordinated effort to respond to the pandemic has been curtailed by disputes over funding and Erdogan’s lack of implementing a lockdown, while the government accuses mayor Imamoglu of illegal fundraising.

Imamoglu had launched a robin hood campaign under the slogan ‘we will succeed together’ to raise money from Turkey’s wealthy to help hundreds of thousands of people in need.

The president responded with a counter-campaign ‘National Solidarity’, promising seven months of his salary to his own cause.

Erdogan has received backlash for resisting containment measures to curb the virus’ spread in favour of ‘keeping the wheels turning’ in the economy, while Imamoglu wants a lockdown in Istanbul, home to 16 million people and the epicentre of the disease in the country.

Imamoglu said he has not discussed the pandemic with Erdogan since the first case was reported in Turkey on March 11, though he said "we would like to" share information.

"Istanbul is clearly now the fundamental centre of this disease," Imamoglu told FOX TV. "If just 15% of people go out in Istanbul, that is 2.5 million people - as much as the (entire population of some) cities in Europe which are lamenting their situation."

Imamoglu, from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), dealt Erdogan the worst electoral setback of his career when he beat a candidate from the ruling AK Party in a mayoral poll a year ago, and later logged an even bigger victory in a re-run.

Imamoglu has since repeatedly locked horns with the central government on issues such as funding and an Istanbul canal project. Now Istanbul, with nearly a fifth of Turkey's population, is central to the fight against the pandemic.

On the money-raising campaign, Turkish media reports said one state bank had blocked donation accounts run by both Istanbul and the municipality of Ankara, where a CHP mayor was also elected last year, and which also launched a local fundraising campaign.

Istanbul insists it has the right to collect donations under the relevant law.

Separately, Istanbul has filed a legal complaint about what it said were orchestrated social media posts accusing the city council of allowing overcrowding on public transport that undermined the fight against the outbreak.

Total COVID-19 infections cases have reached 13,531 with over 200 fatalities.