Istanbul and Erdogan's nightmare

President Erdogan’s candidate has been plainly defeated today. This was a repeat of the Istanbul municipal elections. The first ones, in May, had been marginally won by the opposition candidate. But Erdogan could not accept such defeat. He managed to get that round of elections annulled. Today, the loss is much bigger. The people of Istanbul wanted to send a very clear message to Erdogan. They spoke loud and clear. We will see how the President will react in the near future. He is not a man to accept a defeat. He sees it as a major threat to his absolute authority. Therefore, we can expect he will make it very difficult for the winner, Ekrem İmamoğlu, as well as for all those he sees as supporting him.

Erdogan is not a democrat when he is not the winner.