Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, infected with an enteric virus, suspended his campaign activities on Friday for the third day in a row, 16 days before the seemingly heated presidential and legislative elections.

According to the program announced by the Turkish presidency, the 69-year-old president will only speak via videoconference in the evening from the presidential palace in Ankara on the occasion of the inauguration of a bridge in Adana (south).

Erdogan, who has been in power for 20 years, canceled all his commitments since Tuesday evening, including the much-awaited event, the inauguration of Turkey's first nuclear power plant.

On Thursday, the Turkish president was forced to speak via video link on the occasion of the opening of the Akkuyu station in the south of the country, and he showed signs of fatigue, in his first appearance on television in a live broadcast in about 48 hours.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced Thursday afternoon that Erdogan had gastroenteritis. "He is in good condition. The effects of the gastroenteritis have subsided. He will resume his program as soon as possible," he said.

However, this malaise does not come at the right time for the country's president, especially since 3.4 million Turks registered their names to participate in the voting process outside the country, and Thursday began casting their votes.

And Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003 first as prime minister and then as president, faces an opposition that has formed a united front that puts it in a good position, according to the results of several opinion polls.

As for his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who was nominated by a coalition of six opposition parties, he received tacit support from the Peoples' Democratic Party, the third political force in the country, which is considered the kingmaker in the upcoming presidential ballot.
Kilicdaroglu holds two election rallies Friday in the northwest of the country.