Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan interrupted a live interview on Tuesday, then returned and apologized, citing intestinal flu, according to AFP.

The 69-year-old leader delivered three campaign speeches on Tuesday, with presidential and parliamentary elections expected to be held very close to May 14.

He was going to end the evening live with a joint interview on Ulke TV and Kanal 7.

His televised appearance started more than 90 minutes late, then was interrupted mid-question after 10 minutes of the interview.

The camera moved and the reporter asking the question rose from his chair as the broadcast was interrupted. “Whoah whoah,” said an unknown voice behind the camera.

Erdogan returned 15 minutes later and apologized for being sick.

On Monday and Tuesday, “there was a lot of work. That’s why I got intestinal flu,” he said. “At one point I thought if it would be a bad idea to cancel the show. But I promised. I apologize to you and your audience,” Erdogan added.

His face looked tired and tearful as he spoke. The Turkish president then answered a few questions before the show ended.

Erdogan and his Islamic conservative AKP party have dominated Turkish politics for 20 years. The ongoing election campaign is one of the biggest challenges for the incumbent president. Polls show him either tied or beating Kemal Kilicdaroglu

Source: Agerpres