ISTANBUL (AFP) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday canceled his planned appearances due to a stomach bug less than three weeks before Turkey’s crunch election.
The 69-year-old leader’s announcement came in the heat of a hard-fought campaign in what is widely viewed as Turkey’s most important election of its post-Ottoman era.
Erdogan had three appearances in the central Anatolian provinces planned for Wednesday.
But he said Vice President Fuat Oktay would take his place instead.
“Today I will rest at home under the advice of our doctors,” Erdogan said on his official Twitter account.
Erdogan has been campaigning tirelessly to extend his two-decade election winning streak.
He is running neck-and-neck with secular opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and had three campaign appearances planned for Wednesday.
He cut short a live television interview late on Tuesday after getting sick on air.
His television appearance began more than 90 minutes behind schedule and then went to a commercial break in the middle of a question ten minutes into the show.
The camera shook and the reporter asking the question stood up from his chair when the broadcast cut off.
“Oh wow,” an unidentified voice could be heard saying off camera.
Erdogan returned about 15 minutes later to apologize for getting sick.
“Yesterday and today were hard work. That’s why I got a stomach flu,” Erdogan said.
“At one point, I wondered if it would be misunderstood if we cancelled the program. But we promised. I ask for your and our audience’s forgiveness.”
The Turkish leader then took a few more questions before ending the broadcast.