Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan largely canceled two days of campaigning as crucial elections loom after he fell ill during a live televised interview.
Tuesday’s interview with the president – who is facing a battle to retain power in next month’s vote – was cut during the middle of a question, with Erdogan later returning and saying he had a “serious stomach flu.” As a result, Erdogan scrapped public events so he could rest, although he is due to virtually attend the opening of a nuclear power plant on Thursday. Turkey’s government rejected “baseless claims” about his health amid a flurry of speculation.
Perhaps the most important election in Turkey’s modern history, the vote comes just months after a deadly earthquake rocked the country’s southeast on February 6, killing more than 50,000 people there and in neighboring Syria. It also falls amid soaring inflation and a currency crisis that last year saw nearly 30% slashed off the lira’s value against the dollar. Erdogan, 69, is hoping to extend his power well into a third decade but it is far from a political certainty.
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