Erdogan refuses to drink water offered by his bodyguard over ‘security measures’

Gulf Today Report

A video of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refusing to drink water offered by his bodyguard sparked a great controversy on social media platforms.

In the video, which was widely circulated, Erdogan refused to drink water from his bodyguard and returned it and then took it from the hands of his son, Bilal Erdogan.

It was not understood why the President of Turkey refused to drink water at first, while local media said that the matter was related to a "security measure," and some activists indicated that it was for fear of something bad happening to him.

Local media reports indicated that it was taken during Erdogan's participation in a political activity in Hatay province, in preparation for the second round of the presidential elections.

Around 700,000 Turkish expatriates voted abroad in the second round of the presidential elections, which began on Saturday, amid sharp polarization of the votes of the Turkish community in Germany.

The Turkish High Commission for Presidential Elections said in a statement that the number of expatriate Turks' votes abroad and at border crossings exceeded 700,000 until the middle of the second day of opening the ballot boxes for the second round of the presidential elections.

The voting of expatriate Turks continues in 156 diplomatic missions, distributed to 75 countries, until the evening of May 24, noting that the second round of the presidential elections inside Turkey will take place on May 28.

A number of observers point out that the level of citizens' turnout for elections abroad is witnessing a remarkable increase.

The Supreme Council for Elections announced that the votes of expatriates would be counted on the 28th of this month, along with the votes of those inside the country.