Access to the social media account of Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, has been blocked by the authorities in Turkey.

Imamoglu, who is the main rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, can no longer send messages in Turkey to his 9.7 million followers on X. His account is still accessible abroad.

His social media feed has been his main tool for communicating with his supporters and keeping himself in the public eye.

He had been posting daily by sending messages out from prison via his lawyers. “It’s like the authorities want to make him disappear,” one commentator said.

Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) – the main opposition party in Turkey – told the BBC that blocking his account was a continuation of “the coup attempt on 19 March”, when he was arrested.

”Now they won’t even allow him to speak to the public,” said CHP Secretary General Selin Sayek Boke. “It clearly shows the fear of those in power that they will be losing power. It’s a coup attempt against the next ballot box.”

Opinion polls suggest that Ekrem Imamoglu, who has been elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city three times, would win a presidential election if he was able to stand.

The next presidential election is not due to be held until 2028.