PM Erdoğan cancels electoral rallies after 'falsetto' voice troubles

ISTANBUL

PM Erdoğan addressing a crowd in the eastern province of Van on March 27. AA photo

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has cancelled his electoral rallies scheduled for March 28 after his busy campaign program took an audible toll on his voice.

Instead of speaking at rallies in the Central Anatolian provinces of Konya and Kayseri, Erdoğan will rest at his home in Istanbul, according to Anatolia agency. He also canceled a TV interview late on March 27 after his doctors reportedly recommended that he rest and not permanently damage his vocal cords.

Erdoğan's day of rest will result in an unusual day for Turkey's media, where the agenda is usually set by his daily "important statements."

The prime minister had raised eyebrows when he spoke at two rallies in southeastern Turkey on March 27, delivering his hard-hitting electoral messages in an unexpected falsetto.

He has been on a schedule of two or three rallies each day since the electoral campaign kicked off at the beginning of March. The damaged state of Erdoğan’s voice reflected a bruising campaign, which has now entered the home stretch ahead of the March 30 vote.

“I apologize because of my voice. But I could have not cancel Van, I could not cancel Diyarbakır. I had to come regardless,” Erdoğan said at the beginning of his speech in Van, before going on to slam the city's incumbent Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).