In this piece, our founder Gülseren Onanç argues that Turkey is now facing a full-blown authoritarian regime, following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu just days before the CHP’s presidential primaries. Reflecting on the growing youth-led resistance, Onanç calls for collective action, democratic solidarity, and civil disobedience in the face of injustice.
The unlawful detention order against Ekrem İmamoğlu and his close team were the final straw. Just like in the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, a long-anticipated constitutional law crime was committed in plain sight. In an effort to block İmamoğlu’s presidential candidacy, his diploma was first annulled, and early the next morning, he was taken into custody by the police. Today, the CHP is holding a primary to determine its presidential candidate.
March 23 has become a day when those in Turkey demanding rights, law, and justice raise their voices.
On the morning of March 19, we were engulfed in deep despair. Then, the CHP leader came forward and called on all 86 million citizens to defend democracy, protect their votes, and fight for the country’s future. That same morning, when the news came out that prominent journalist İsmail Saymaz had been detained, a wave of fear began to spread among the public.
One of the greatest evils that can be inflicted on human dignity is making someone feel fear for their thoughts, their expression, or their way of life. Authoritarian regimes try to silence different and dissenting voices with the banality of evil, attempting to erase a society’s creativity, color, and dynamism. They shut down independent media and create loyalist outlets just to make sure only their voice is heard. Instead of independent universities, they establish institutions that will raise students who blindly obey. And it doesn’t stop there — they imprison elected mayors and politicians for being opposition and seize their institutions. We in Turkey have been experiencing this process for 23 years, increasingly so.
Step by step, the parliamentary system was dismantled, and then the institutions of the Republic of Turkey were brought down under the presidential system. In the Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and updated for 2024, Turkey ranked 102nd out of 167 countries and was categorized as a “hybrid regime” near the bottom.
Turkey: A Fully-Fledged Autocracy
Gönül Tol, Director of the Turkey Program at the Middle East Institute and author of Erdoğan’s War: A Strongman’s Struggle in His Country and in Syria, wrote in Foreign Affairs that Turkey has now become a fully-fledged autocracy. She says:
Just days before Turkey’s main opposition party was set to select its next presidential candidate, the leading contender, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, was arrested and jailed, effectively removing him from the race. In this brazen act of political suppression, the Turkish government has taken a momentous step toward full-fledged autocracy.
As the founder of an association called SES (Voice), the head of a civil society organization advocating for Equality and Solidarity, and a feminist activist, my immediate reaction was to support an organized response. I learned from the feminist movement that the most effective place to demand democracy is the streets. CHP’s call for a gathering in Saraçhane, where the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is located, ripped the hopelessness out of me. Nothing feels as empowering as taking action.
When I arrived in Saraçhane, I expected to see the usual suspects — middle-aged members of the CHP. But on the evening of March 19, standing in front of the municipality building was a completely different crowd: university students. Despite the freezing 5-degree weather, they came to raise their voices and protest the injustice done to their Mayor Ekrem.
And in that moment, I suddenly regained a hope I hadn’t felt in a long time.
A youth that raises its voice against injustice is the pride of society, the guarantee of democracy.
For them, Ekrem İmamoğlu represents a free university, the opportunity to find a job, being a citizen of a country they can travel from freely, and the ability to express themselves openly on social media. These young people, who have never seen another government in their lifetime, see İmamoğlu as a kind-hearted politician who understands them.
Since Wednesday, the crowd gathering every night in Saraçhane has been growing. And it’s not just in Istanbul — students across Turkey are resisting injustice.
Universities on Strike
Last night, a student representative speaking in Saraçhane announced that starting Monday, March 24, students will boycott classes at universities. They’ve also called on labor unions to slow down or stop work in solidarity.
Today, the CHP is holding its presidential primary. Today, those who want to hold onto hope, defend democracy, and claim Turkey’s future are rushing to the CHP’s ballot boxes. They are casting their votes — the most precious symbol of democracy — and showing their will.
We have a popular slogan in Turkey that reflects how we are feeling:
There’s no salvation alone. It’s either all of us together, or none of us at all!
The day Ekrem İmamoğlu is officially declared the CHP’s presidential candidate, there is a high likelihood that he and his colleagues, as well as allied mayors, will be arrested under investigations based on secret witness allegations.
This decision means arresting the will of the people of Istanbul and jailing the hope of citizens crushed under the current regime in Turkey.
We will continue the struggle and as feminist women repeat our slogan from the streets:
We Won’t Be Silent, We’re Not Afraid, We Will Not Obey