Turkish authorities have detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of corruption and terror investigations, according to state broadcaster TRT, citing the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office.

The mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, was detained after prosecutors accused him of corruption and terrorism. The opposition said the arrest was politically motivated.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a popular figure, had boasted jokingly that he was the only person to have beaten Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party in three local elections.