Istanbul’s embattled Ekrem Imamoglu was officially nominated as a presidential candidate by the opposition CHP party for the 2028 elections, a party spokesman told AFP on Monday.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) -- the main opposition party and the second largest party in parliament -- held a primary election on Sunday, at which the only candidate was Imamoglu, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Imamoglu has been arrested, interrogated, jailed and stripped of his mayorship in less than a week following a graft and terror probe that the opposition has slammed as a political “coup.”