Ali Babacan, a former deputy prime minister who is currently an opposition party leader in Turkey, has likened the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March to past military interventions, calling it a coup against democracy.
Speaking to T24 journalist Cansu Çamlıbel, Babacan, chairman of the opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), drew parallels between İmamoğlu’s March 19 detention and events such as the 1997 military-led “postmodern coup,” known as the February 28 process, and the 2007 e-memorandum issued online by the Turkish Armed Forces to pressure the civilian government.
“What February 28 was to us, what the April 27 e-memorandum was to us, the events of March 18 and 19 are the same,” Babacan said. “Such acts obstruct the functioning of the democratic system.”
İstanbul University revoked İmamoğlu’s university degree on March 18, in what critics and international observers call a bid to bar him from running for president.
The mayor was detained the next day over alleged corruption and was subsequently arrested on March 23. Following his arrest, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) declared him the party’s presidential candidate.
Babacan argued that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s handling of political opponents, including İmamoğlu, is not only undermining democratic norms but also harming Turkey’s economy.
He claimed that the central bank has depleted approximately $57 billion in reserves since March 17 — around half of what had been rebuilt after a return to monetary tightening following the 2023 elections.
“This is a crisis created by Mr. Erdoğan himself. It’s not some external shock,” he said.
The former deputy prime minister and economy chief also criticized the government’s economic strategy, calling the Treasury’s gold-based borrowing “very wrong” and unsustainable.
He stressed that the central bank spent 800 billion lira last year on the Exchange Rate Protected Deposit (KKM) scheme — an initiative aimed at shielding savings from currency depreciation — by printing money without proper fiscal backing.
Despite recent appointments of economic policymakers like Cevdet Yılmaz and Mehmet Şimşek, Babacan said their influence is limited.
“They can’t talk about corruption or government waste. If they try, someone slaps their hands and says, ‘That’s not your job, step aside.'”
Babacan also addressed Erdoğan’s political future, stating that under both the the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) internal term-limit rules and the Turkish Constitution, Erdoğan is ineligible to run for president again in 2028.
“A very different world will emerge after Erdoğan,” Babacan said. “The moment he steps down, the AKP as we know it will cease to exist.”
He urged Erdoğan to begin preparing for a democratic transition, saying: “What Erdoğan needs to do now is to properly and orderly prepare for a transition after himself. It is to pave the way for democracy in Turkey.”
On the issue of Kurdish rights and the longstanding conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Babacan reiterated his support for peaceful resolution.
He said that past peace initiatives were necessary and accused Erdoğan of treating the peace process as expendable.
“The PKK is an anachronistic group whose raison d’être has vanished,” he said, warning that Erdoğan could abandon talks at the slightest threat to his power.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, is an armed militant group founded in 1978 that has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, seeking greater Kurdish autonomy and rights.
The conflict has resulted in the death of over 40,000 people since fighting began in 1984.
Babacan also said the views recently expressed by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan “match 80 percent” of the DEVA Party’s stances over the last five years.
Explaining his departure from the ruling party, Babacan cited the AKP’s failure to confront corruption and ensure justice. He said that DEVA operates independently, without alliances, and offers a third path in Turkish politics. “We no longer want to be forced to choose between two poles,” he said.
Despite current democratic setbacks, Babacan ended the interview on a hopeful note: “Yes, our democracy is sick, but it is breathing — it has not died. We will continue this struggle to keep our sick democracy alive and heal it.”