“Our country has risen to the league of nations with nuclear power, albeit with a 60-year delay,” said Erdogan, sitting behind his desk in the presidential palace in Ankara, looking visibly upset. The Akkuyu nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean coast was built by the Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin was also connected via video and praised Erdogan, who had done a lot to expand Turkish-Russian relations. The construction of nuclear power stations is a “convincing example”.
Erdogan had canceled several campaign dates on Wednesday due to illness. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca justified Erdogan’s illness-related absence with “infectious gastroenteritis”. The Turkish head of state had already had to interrupt a live interview on television on Tuesday. He had subsequently said he had contracted an upset stomach earlier in the week.
In view of the falling poll numbers, Erdogan has made numerous campaign appearances in recent weeks. Polls predict a neck-and-neck race in the May 14 election with opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, or a victory for Kilicdaroglu.
Family Minister Derya Yanik said on Turkish television on Thursday that Erdogan was on the mend. “There’s nothing to worry about. He’s fine,” she assured. “He will resume his intense program tomorrow, I think.”
Meanwhile, Chinese state media speculated about Erdogan’s condition, which could be much worse than officially reported. Presidential adviser and media director Farhettin Altun “categorically” rejected the “baseless allegations” in the online service Twitter and wrote of “disinformation” with regard to reports that Erdogan had a heart attack.
In the meantime, the polling stations have opened in the Turkish diplomatic missions in Germany and 72 other countries worldwide, as reported by the Anadolu news agency, with reference to figures from the YSK election commission.
A total of 3.4 million Turks living abroad can therefore cast their votes until May 9th. Around 1.5 million Turks with voting rights live in Germany alone. You can also vote at the border crossings to Turkey until election day. Postal voting is not possible under Turkish law.
In the last parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey in 2018, around 50 percent of those eligible to vote in Germany exercised their right to vote. Back then, support for Erdogan was significantly stronger in Germany than in Turkey itself.
Opposition candidate Kilicdaroglu said in an interview with RTL/ntv that Turks living in Germany could “live in a free country, be paid fairly for their work and be free to express their thoughts”. He hopes that “people can express themselves and organize themselves freely” in Turkey too.
If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the votes in the first ballot, there will be a runoff on May 28th.
