Turkey’s president fails to see off his most powerful rival yet

CARS STREAMED down the main avenues of Turkey’s biggest city on the night of June 23rd, music and horns blaring. Street parties erupted in several neighbourhoods. Young people danced into the small hours. Ekrem Imamoglu, the man responsible for the commotion, stood atop a double-decker bus near his home, surrounded by a sea of elated supporters, and spoke the words that had become the rallying cry of his campaign. “Everything”, he said, “is going to be great.”