Turkey’s Erdogan cancels events after falling ill on live TV

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled his appearances for a second day on Thursday after falling ill with a stomach bug.

On Thursday, he had been scheduled to appear at a rally in as well as to inaugurate Turkey’s first nuclear power station at Akkuyu on the southern coast.

Erdogan fell ill during a live TV interview on Tuesday while campaigning for the election next month.

The interview was briefly cut and a concerend voice could be heard in the background. Erdogan returned around 20 minutes later to finish the interview.

The Turkish president said on Wednesday that he would take some time off to “rest at home under the advice of our doctors.”

Officials reject speculation on Erdogan’s health

Late on Wednesday, Erdogan’s communications director Fahrettin Altun shared screenshots of speculation that the president had suffered a heart attack and was in hospital.

“We categorically reject such baseless claims regarding the president about his health,” Altun said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Fuat Oktay said Erdogan was doing well.

“We are in constant contact,” he said. “He has caught a little cold.”

Election campaign heats up

Erdogan has been campaigning frequently as part of his bid to continue a two-decade election-winning streak.

However, his favorability has fallen due to economic issues and the impact of February’s earthquakes that claimed more than 50,000 lives.

He is now neck-and-neck in the polls with opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who is backed by a coalition of secular, conservative and nationalist factions.

On Thursday, polls opened for Turks in Germany — the largest Turkish diaspora community numbering 1.5 million eligible voters — to cast their vote from overseas. The first round of the election in Turkey will be held on May 14.

zc/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-s-erdogan-cancels-events-after-falling-ill-on-live-tv/a-65447489?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf