Socialists Promote Primary For Finding Budapest Mayor’s ‘Challenger’

  • 14 Nov 2018 9:46 AM
  • Hungary Matters
Socialists Promote Primary For Finding Budapest Mayor’s ‘Challenger’
The Socialists view the primary as the best option for “the democratic opposition” to select “the challenger” of incumbent Budapest Mayor István Tarlós for the municipal elections in October next year, the leader of the opposition party’s Budapest chapter told an informal roundtable.

Under the Socialists’ proposal, a candidate seeking to run for the post of Budapest mayor would be required to collect 2,000 recommendation slips, Zsolt Molnár said.

Votes supporting the nomination of a candidate could be cast in a designated office and in tents set up at five spots in Budapest between January 28 and February 3, he said.

The final result of the vote would be announced on February 3, Molnár said, expecting a turnout of around 10,000 people.

He said the Socialist Party’s nominee for the primary would be Csaba Horváth, deputy mayor of Budapest between 2007 and 2009.

Horváth was the Socialists’ candidate for the 2010 municipal election, but was defeated by Tarlós, a candidate for Fidesz.

Coordination talks were held with the opposition Párbeszéd, the Solidarity Movement and the Democratic Coalition (DK), of which the latter said it would participate in a primary if there is “real competition”.

MTI photo: Illyés Tibor

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