An Istanbul court on Wednesday issued a verdict in the case of Turkish metropolitan mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, sentencing him to two years and seven months in prison for insulting representatives of the Central Election Commission, the Habertürk TV channel reported from the courtroom.

The politician himself earlier Wednesday urged Istanbul residents to come to the Sarachane neighborhood, where the city hall is located, at 4 p.m. when the court convened for sentencing.

If the verdict is approved by a higher court, Imamoglu could lose his post due to a five-year ban on political activity. The Istanbul mayor is considered one of the possible rivals of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming 2023 elections of the head of the republic.