On Sunday, the day of the vote, the turnout was close to 90 percent, but it’s a mistake to call the elections free and fair. The Turkish media is heavily controlled, the monopoly of power is absolute. Erdoğan appeared on twenty-seven TV channels in the days before the election, while the opposition could only make their voices heard on limited platforms. Even Hagia Sophia, which should have remained a secular space to honor its long and diverse history as church, mosque and museum, was used for political rallying. On the evening before election day, Erdoğan led a prayer inside the mosque — a ritual performed by Ottoman sultans before they would lead their armies to war.
On Monday, as it became clear that the elections, so tight, so unfair, would end with a run-off next Sunday and that Erdoğan was ahead in the polls, I could not collect my thoughts. I felt deeply demoralized. Religious fundamentalism and ultranationalism have made big gains. This is very bad news for anyone who believes in democracy and respects the most basic human rights. The whole morning, I couldn’t read, I couldn’t write. All I could do was walk by the river.
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