ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled his appearance at campaign rallies for the third straight day on Friday after contracting what authorities described as an intestinal infection.
Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for two decades as prime minister and president, is seeking re-election for a third term in a general election on May 14. His schedule for Friday included attending a bridge inauguration and a political rally in Adana, in the south of the country, but it was changed for him to participate in the ceremony via videoconference.
Erdogan became ill during a television interview on Tuesday night with what Health Minister Fahrettin Koca later identified as a “gastrointestinal infection.” His campaign rallies on Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled.
In his first public appearance since then, Erdogan looked pale during a video conference for the inauguration of a nuclear power plant.
Other officials have tried to allay concerns about the 69-year-old’s health ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next month. Recent polls give its main rival a slight lead amid an economic recession and months after a devastating earthquake that rocked the south of the country in February, killing more than 50,000 people.
Erdogan, who underwent an operation on his digestive system in 2011, has ruled the country since 2003, first as prime minister and, from 2014, as president. In recent weeks he has embarked on an intense campaign with various events across the country every day.