Opposition candidate pelted with stones at rally in Turkey

THE mayor of Istanbul has been pelted with stones during a campaign stop ahead of Turkey’s knife-edge election.

Ekrem Imamoglu was canvassing on Sunday as part of the unified opposition campaign to unseat Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president, after nearly two decades in power.

Local authorities in Erzerum, an Erdogan stronghold near the border with Georgia and Armenia, tried to block the rally by packing the main square with city buses.

The opposition then moved the rally to a square nearby, with Mr Imamoglu, who has been nominated as a future vice-president, addressing supporters from atop his campaign van.

Shortly after the start of the rally, attackers started to throw stones at Mr Imamoglu. The windows on his van were smashed and the mayor was brought inside by his bodyguards. A video filmed from inside the bus showed a man hurling stones while police officers nearby did not move.

An elderly man and a child had their faces smeared in blood, according to live footage from the rally.

The local governor later confirmed seven injuries.

The attack follows a string of increasingly aggressive verbal attacks against the opposition by Mr Erdogan and his allies – including suggestions that they are too welcoming of LGBT people.

After the attack on Mr Imamoglu, thousands of his supporters flocked to one of Istanbul’s airports to greet the mayor on his return.

Cem Yilmaz, a Turkish film star, yesterday tweeted well wishes to the mayor and offered his support. The election is due to be held on Sunday.