In the recent municipal election, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party lost to its opposition in two major cities, Istanbul and Ankara. Istanbul is the economic powerhouse of Turkey, and its loss is a major blow to Erdoğan, who during his campaign repeatedly said “whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey.”

Before the election, there was almost a consensus that Turkey is an authoritarian regime, and the discussion was over which type of authoritarian regime it was. But after the election, a mood of optimism has taken hold both at home and abroad. Opponents of Erdoğan started to believe that they can really change things. And some observers in the West celebrated the victory of the opposition as a proof that Turkey is still a democracy.