Istanbul, April 28, (dpa/GNA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan can only continue his election campaign to a limited extent following his illness.
The president decided not to appear in person at the scheduled inauguration of a bridge in Adana, southern Turkey, on Friday, according to the presidential website.
However, he will attend via teleconference live from his office. Erdoğan rarely misses infrastructure inaugurations where he promotes his re-election on May 14. He missed a high-speed train line opening in Ankara on Wednesday.
He has been running an intensive election campaign and has usually made three appearances in front of an audience per day.
The 69-year-old fell ill on Tuesday evening, two weeks before the parliamentary and presidential elections. He first had to interrupt a live TV interview due to a stomach upset, after which he took a break from campaigning.
On Thursday he briefly appeared in a videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which the Turkish president looked pale. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported that Erdoğan had stomach issues and needed to rest.
Recent polls expect a neck-and-neck race between Erdoğan and his strongest challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
GNA