The Guardian view on Turkey and Erdoğan: a weakened strongman Editorial
The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a news conference in Istanbul ‘There is no doubt about the blow dealt to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the country’s authoritarian president, after 16 years at the helm.’ Photograph: Bülent Kılıç/AFP/Getty Images Strongmen are not invincible. The stunning news that the Turkish opposition had surged to victory in local elections – as startling to the opposition itself as anyone – is on hold following objections from the ruling AKP. In the coming days, the final results will be announced. Legal proceedings are likely; a concerted media attack on the expression of the democratic will as a “coup at the ballot box”, under malign foreign influence, is already under way.
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