Ekrem İmamoğlu has served as Mayor of Istanbul since 2019, building a model of inclusive, solidarity-based governance that has made him one of the most popular elected leaders in Turkey. In March 2025, he was arrested on politically motivated charges widely condemned by democratic leaders across Europe and beyond. “The heart of the country” “Istanbul is the heart of the country,” says Ambassador (R) Mustafa Osman Turan, Foreign Relations Advisor to the Mayor. “Its economic activity, its population, everything flows through Istanbul.” The city of 16 million people is larger than many countries, and since 2019 İmamoğlu has governed it with a clear philosophy: that a city should work for all its residents, not just those who voted for its mayor. That philosophy found expression in what became known as solidarity municipalism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the municipality launched Pay It Forward, a scheme connecting residents who could not afford their utility bills with those willing to cover them, creating a solidarity network that won an international award from Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2021. The administration’s work to make Istanbul a better place to live for all its citizens continues. So far, the administration opened more than 120 affordable daycare centres across Istanbul’s 39 districts and now provides free transport cards to mothers with children 4 years old and under so they could drop their children off and continue to work. More than 110 affordable restaurants across the city offer three-course meals for around one euro. Affordable housing for six thousand students was created to address the housing crisis, alongside municipal scholarships to support young people who might otherwise have had to leave the city to study. “He didn’t distinguish between those who voted for him and those who didn’t,” says Ambassador Turan. “He brought services to all 39 districts.” It