Erdogan returns after three days of electoral absence due to illness

The Turkish president speaks at an aviation festival in Istanbul after the recovery as key elections on May 14 approach.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appeared in public for the first time in three days after a stomach infection sidelined him on the campaign trail ahead of key presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.

Smiling and dressed in a red windbreaker, the 69-year-old leader stepped onto the stage at an Istanbul aviation festival and hurled flowers to flag-waving supporters.

He arrived at the event on Saturday with his close ally Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

Both countries have waged wars using Turkey’s combat drones, which will feature prominently at the weekend’s aviation event.

Erdogan had been calm since falling ill on live television Tuesday night. Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said that Erdogan is suffering from gastroenteritis.

The digestive problem is easily treated and usually goes away within a few days.

However, it has disrupted Erdogan’s attempts to build on momentum in the run-up to Turkey’s biggest election in generations in about two weeks.

Erdogan looked healthy addressing the crowd with a microphone in hand, describing the government’s efforts to help victims of a massive earthquake in February that claimed more than 50,000 lives. But he refrained from addressing his absence or the health issue.

Polls say Kilicdaroglu is in the lead

Erdogan’s illness came at one of the most vulnerable moments of his two-decade rule.

Most polls show Erdogan slightly behind the main opposition alliance candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

His conservative party’s control of parliament through an alliance with the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party is also under threat.

kilicdaroglu it has formed the kind of broad-based coalition that Erdogan had dominated in the making for 20 years.

The opposition alliance includes some of Erdogan’s former allies, liberals, conservatives and nationalists. Türkiye’s pro-Kurdish party also endorsement announced for Kilicdaroglu even though he is not officially in the opposition alliance.

Erdogan had appeared in five cities for his campaign over two days before falling ill on late-night television. He tried to make up for it by appearing at events via video link.

The president recently decided not to play music at his appearances out of respect for the victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck swaths of southeastern Turkey.

Instead, he has focused on listing his achievements, including building millions of new homes and his drive to revive Turkey’s military might.