Turkey is still just a democracy, but it is not certain to remain that way

IN SPRING 2019 Ekrem Imamoglu won the Istanbul mayoral election, defeating one of AK’s main leaders, Binali Yildirim, a former prime minister. He did so not just once, but twice. On election night, just as Mr Imamoglu was poised to overtake his rival, the state news agency suddenly stopped updating the vote tally. Overnight large banners proclaiming Mr Yildirim’s victory went up across Istanbul. But by the time the vote count had ended, Mr Imamoglu was ahead by over 13,000 votes.