Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a ceremony to mark an increase in capacity at a natural gas storage facility in Silivri near Istanbul, Turkey, on Dec. 16, 2022. (Credit: Umit Bektas/Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday fired back at Western criticism of a political ban imposed on Istanbul's popular opposition mayor ahead of next year's general election.
A court last week sentenced Ekrem Imamoglu to more than two years in prison and barred him from holding office for the same length of time for "insulting a public official" in 2019.
The case stemmed from a hugely controversial election in which Imamoglu's initial victory was annulled.
Imamoglu has emerged as one of the more likely opposition leaders to beat Erdogan in a presidential election due by next June.
The 52-year-old will continue to serve as mayor while his appeal winds its way through the courts.
But a top election official said Imamoglu would not be allowed to serve as president should he win the election and the ruling is upheld.
The official said a re-run presidential vote would then be called.
The United States led an international chorus of condemnation of the trial.
'Manipulate politics'
The State Department said it was "deeply troubled and disappointed" while Germany called it "a heavy blow to democracy."
Erdogan told his ruling party faithful and cheering supporters that foreign powers were trying to use the case to manipulate Turkish politics ahead of the vote.
"Are you looking for political engineers?" Erdogan asked his supporters.
"Are you looking for foreigners who use an individual crime to manipulate politics in our country?"
The mayor's conviction brought tens of thousands of supporters out on the streets of Istanbul.
Some analysts believe it could energize the stuttering campaigns of Turkey's opposition parties — still arguing among themselves about who to field against Erdogan next year.
The Turkish leader uncharacteristically refrained from commenting about the conviction for three days.
He then distanced himself from the verdict and pointed out that it could still be appealed.
Erdogan's latest comments suggest that he intends to play up his nationalist credentials by aligning the opposition with foreign forces during the election campaign.
A court last week sentenced Ekrem Imamoglu to more than two years in prison and barred him from holding office for the same length of time for "insulting a public...