Ouch!! Someone is hurt by truth. What a loser.
So now I don't know anymore.
At the core is rule by the will of the people, which we seem to be rather far from at the moment
Even Russia and China have "elections". I don't think anyone would confuse them with a democracy just because they have electios
Similarly, it can be argued that the US, even with elections, is closer to a monarchy/aristocracy than democracy, in the sense that the will of the people defines (or not) our governance.