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Why can a country call itself a republic without having a democratic government?

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Frescoed throne room in the palace of King Minos at Knossos, Crete, featuring red walls with painted motifs, a stone throne, benches, and a round basin on the floor. — government Frescoed throne room, palace of King Minos at Knossos, Crete, c. 1700–1400 bce.

A country can call itself a republic without being a democracy because the term "republic" has evolved significantly over time and is defined primarily by the absence of a hereditary monarch rather than the presence of democratic institutions.1

Historically, the term is derived from the Latin res publica ("the public thing") and was used to describe any state that was not a tyranny, encompassing various forms of government including oligarchies and aristocracies. While modern republics are often founded on the principle that sovereignty rests with the people, the label has been claimed by regimes that lack democratic legitimacy.1

In the 20th century, various military dictatorships and totalitarian regimes adopted the title "republic" despite exercising power far beyond that of traditional monarchs and failing to provide the free elections or political competition characteristic of a democracy. Consequently, while a republic today is generally expected to be a representative system, the term serves as a formal designation of a state's structure—specifically that the head of state is not a monarch—rather than a guarantee of democratic governance.12