Turkey’s election is steadily approaching and campaigning season is in full swing, which appears to have taken its toll on Turkish President Erdogan. On Tuesday evening he fell ill during a TV interview, which had began an hour and a half late, apparently sick from a “serious stomach cold”, which he later called a minor inconvenience. The interview was paused for about 20 minutes while he struggled with the problem off-camera, before later coming back and explaining the issue. He stated the issue is likely due to the “intense campaign work” he’d been doing Monday and Tuesday.
During an interview, president Erdogan suddenly became unwell after which the interview stopped. It is unknown what his current condition is. pic.twitter.com/VfQVi5NZ05
— NOËL ?? ?? (@NOELreports) April 26, 2023
Today, Wednesday, he skipped his scheduled campaign appearances, on the advice of his doctor, and in his stead sent Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay. In a twitter post, the President stated his intent to hopefully return to the campaign trail tomorrow.
Yo?un mesaim sebebiyle yay?n esnas?nda geçirdi?im küçük rahats?zl?ktan ötürü geçmi? olsun dileklerini ileten, dualar?n? eksik etmeyen necip milletimin her bir ferdine, her bir karde?ime çok çok te?ekkür ediyorum.…
— Recep Tayyip Erdo?an (@RTErdogan) April 26, 2023
Turkey’s election is on May 14th, and as it presently stands, Erdogan is behind opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the polls, so every moment is crucial in determining the election a victory or a loss.