Indeed. There is a difference between democracy and liberal democracy.
This is not about being a liberal democracy at all.
If voters don't have the opportunity to get a truthful look at the society they live in and the people who would like to be elected, their votes are meaningless.
You need freedom of speech and a free press to get that perspective. A democracy without freedom of speech and a free press is no democracy at all but a facade hiding an authoritarian state.
In the long term, this coup succeeding is probably the best option for democracy.