(Bloomberg) — Turkey’s main opposition party called for nationwide protests on Friday over the detention of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most prominent rival.
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“They’re asking me if I’m making a call to be on the streets? Yes, yes, yes,” Republican People’s Party, or CHP, chairman Ozgur Ozel told demonstrators in Istanbul on Thursday evening, who gathered for a second day in reaction to the detention of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Thousands of people took to the streets on Thursday evening, challenging a ban in place since Wednesday, with authorities seeking to preempt the risk of demonstrations escalating. Dozens were detained over social media posts criticizing Imamoglu’s detention.
Losses in Turkish markets picked up on Friday, with the lira on course for its steepest weekly drop in nearly two years. Turkey’s central bank announced a surprise increase to one of its key interest rates to stem the currency’s decline amid mounting political tensions — the lira was down 0.5% at 38 per dollar Friday.
The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index slumped as much as 7.9%, before paring some of the losses. The sharp drop earlier triggered circuit breakers and added to a weekly retreat that’s erased about $30 billion from the value of the Turkish equity market. The Turkish currency and stocks are the world’s worst performers this week.
The cost of insuring Turkey’s government debt against default rose, with five-year credit default swaps climbing to the highest level in about a year. Bonds fell, with the yield on 10-year government bonds adding 81 basis points to 32.12%.
The Istanbul governor’s office on Friday repeated its warning that any gatherings or press conferences through March 23 are forbidden, while governors of capital Ankara and Izmir also imposed city-wide bans. Friday evening will put the orders to test, as Imamoglu’s CHP is organizing rallies nationwide.
Erdogan, who has control and influence across almost all levers of the state, has sought to distance himself from the latest events. On Thursday evening, he said the recent developments constituted internal matters for the opposition and they should not be seen as national issues.
Imamoglu is Erdogan’s strongest rival, having won over the president’s handpicked contenders in two consecutive local elections. Erdogan’s political ascent began as mayor of the same city in the 1990s and he saw the losses as personal defeats.
