Some say government pulled this off (courts follow the orders of Erdogan) to force the hand of the opposition to appoint the Istanbul mayor as presedential candidate. This can cause turmoil within the opposition leaders. Erdogan may be trying to achieve this.

He also tests his power and the public's reaction. If the public cannot react to this and he can influence the court of cassation, he will secure his position as a dictator for life.

He was able to influence the court of cassation in previous cases, however this is a major case. We all hope that his power is not strong enough to influence the high court on this matter by ordering them to approve such a baseless claim.

With elections this close, there is no telling what might happen. If the appeals takes a long time, he can run, be elected, then removed from presidency. Or he might run, but the appeals courts can finalize the decision after the cutoff for candidate applications. Or the appeals court might overturn, and things will go back to "normal".

We can only speculate till the courts makes its final decision.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/06/middleeast/turkey-istanbu...