Turkish opposition chief to hold rally after 'justice' march

The leader of Turkey's main opposition party was to address a mass rally yesterday in Istanbul at the culmination of an almost month-long march, in a rare challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), launched an unprecedented 450-kilometre (280 mile) trek on June 15 from Ankara to Istanbul in protest the arrest of one of his MPs.

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Supporters have compared the trek of the slightly built, mustachioed 69-year-old with Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's famous Salt March of 1930. But the government has dismissed the march as a bothersome stunt.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to show up for the rally, which could be one of the biggest opposition protests seen in Istanbul since the mass 2013 demonstrations against Erdogan's rule sparked by the planned redevelopment of Gezi Park in the city.

The CHP leader reached the outskirts of Istanbul on Friday and was joined by tens of thousands forming a vast file along the road despite blistering heat.

He was due on Sunday from 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) to walk the final three kilometres alone before joining the waiting crowds at a vast meeting space in the Istanbul district of Maltepe.

"Why do I walk? This 450-kilometre march has one goal: Justice," Kilicdaroglu said ahead of the meeting.