"A Great Moment for Democracy": Erdogan's AK Party Suffers Major Defeat in Local Turkish Elections

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party suffered major setbacks in local elections this weekend after dominating the country's political system since 2003. The AK Party lost control in both of Turkey's largest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, and is now disputing the results. Voters expressed frustration with Erdogan's autocratic rule and are also facing soaring inflation and rising unemployment. Now the results are being disputed, and recounts are underway. "Whoever is criticizing Erdogan right now is held accountable for either terrorism charges or libel against the president," says The New School professor Koray Caliskan, faculty fellow at the Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies at The New School who has been indicted 25 times in Turkey. "This is how he's silencing dissent."