Özgür Özel, Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), called for a march on 23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Turkey to protest the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and recent political developments, as well as to celebrate the holiday. Although the Governorate of Ankara banned the protest, Özel organised a rally in Ulus Square and marched with the crowd to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.