In a scene straight out of Star Wars, Erdogan’s shimmering avatar, whose real-life counterpart is under siege amid an ever-expanding corruption scandal and the resignations of multiple high-level officials, spoke to an astonished crowd of Justice and Development Party supporters on the need for resilience before municipal elections on March 30.

“We are going to elections in the shadow of attacks prepared by treasonous networks,” said the towering, photon-based figure, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. “I urge all my mayoral candidates to not waste any of their time.”