24 March 2025 – The Global Parliament of Mayors expresses its solidarity with Mr Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul and demands his immediate release. For cities, the deepening of democracy, the state of law and human rights is vital to cope with the many complex challenges of urban life. Therefor his arrest is not only an authoritarian action against a democratic opposition leader and potential presidential candidate. It is also an action of the central state against an elected mayor, expression of local democracy. In the whole world urbanity is opposing authoritarian tendencies in de central state, because mayors are pragmatic politicians closest to their population. The arrest of the mayor of Istanbul and the lack of an independent justice is a serious setback of the Turkish democratisation process. Cities and mayors of the world will be at the side of the elected representatives of the people of Istanbul.
Above, former GPM Chair & Mayor of Mannheim Dr. Peter Kurz discusses with Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu the role of cities in increasing global crisis and declining democracy in 2023.