President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will soon resume his election campaign as an infection affecting his digestive system is showing signs of abating, Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
(Bloomberg) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will soon resume his election campaign as an infection affecting his digestive system is showing signs of abating, Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
Erdogan has been suffering from “gastroenteritis infection” since earlier this week but he remains in good condition, Koca said in televised comments on Thursday in Konya in central Turkey.
His comments mark the first time an official has offered a medical diagnosis for the president since he fell ill during a live TV interview on Tuesday. Erdogan has been canceling public appearances since then, including a visit to the Mediterranean coast city of Mersin for an event at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
The president was expected to deliver a speech by video link at the nuclear facility at 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, but that was also pushed back to 4 p.m. The plant is being built by Russia in Mersin. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also scheduled to attend by video link.
Koca provided a less clear time-line on when Erdogan will get back on the campaign trail.
The president “will resume his program as soon as possible,” Koca said. “The impact from his infection has abated.”
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Erdogan, who is facing his toughest election race since taking power in 2003, said earlier he had an “upset stomach.”
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Erdogan’s been on the campaign trail ahead of the May 14 vote, where he’ll face an alliance of six opposition parties joining forces to unseat him.
He’s expected to use the nuclear power plant ceremony to bolster support among voters who back the Turkish leader’s “strongman” image and close ties with the Kremlin ruler. He abandoned the planned visit to Mersin on the advice of doctors, an official with direct knowledge said, asking not to be identified.
–With assistance from Firat Kozok and Beril Akman.
(Updates starting in first paragraph with new developments)
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