Erdoğan Cancels Third Day of Election Appearances

Facts

• Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is seeking a third presidential term in the country's May 14 elections, canceled his election appearances for a third day Friday after falling ill reportedly with a gastrointestinal infection.¹
• He had been due to appear at a bridge opening and a political rally in the southern city of Adana, but his schedule changed to show he would attend the opening ceremony via video link.²
• Erdoğan got sick live on TV on Tuesday evening, prompting him to interrupt his busy campaign schedule. Since then, he has been trying to adjust by attending events via video link, including a joint appearance with Russia's Vladimir Putin at a video conference on Thursday to inaugurate a nuclear power plant.³
• Officials sought to assuage concerns over Erdoğan's health ahead of next month’s elections as rumors spread online that he was critically ill in hospital after having suffered a myocardial infarction.⁴
• Recent polls showed a slight lead for his main challenger, center-left opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, amid an economic downturn and the February earthquake that killed over 50K people.⁵
• Erdoğan has ruled Turkey for two decades, first as prime minister and as president since 2014. He also underwent intestinal surgery in 2011.¹

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²Al Jazeera, ³France 24, ⁴CNN, and ⁵NBC.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by AL. Erdoğan has now canceled three days of campaign events as the crucial elections are near, and he is almost certainly downplaying the severity of his illness. Despite falling ill during a TV interview, no cameras were on the president as the moment unfolded, leading to reasonable suspicion of a heart attack or another, more severe, health episode. He looked quite ill in his online appearances, adding more fuel to the speculation that he is too ill to serve.
• Narrative B, as provided by Daily Sabah. Misinformation is spreading like wildfire as rumor-mongers used social media to lie about Pres. Erdoğan's health. Political opportunists are using his stomach illness to lie and gain an advantage in the upcoming elections. Despite all of the false rumors, Pres. Erdoğan is in great health and poised to win his third term. The people are behind their president, and he will be back on his feet very shortly.

Predictions