Budapest mayoral candidate from Hungary's ruling party, Alexandra Szentkyrai, surprisingly withdrew her candidacy two days ahead of Sunday's local elections, Hungarian media reported.
Sentkirai announced on Facebook his decision to withdraw from the race. She called on her supporters to support the independent candidate for mayor David Vitezi in the vote on Sunday, which coincides with the elections for the European Parliament, and for municipal councilors to vote for the FIDES list.
With the withdrawal of Szentkirai, the candidates for mayor of Budapest remain three – the current mayor Gergey Karaczony, nominated and supported by the left alliance of the Democratic Coalition-Hungarian Socialist Party and Dialog-Greens, by the Momentum party and by an initiative committee, the candidate of the movement “Our Homeland” András Grundtner and David Vitesi, an independent candidate supported by the Green Party (LMP).
In front of the BTA, just hours before the surprising decision of the ruling candidate, Vitezi said that he has a clear program of 101 points for the future of Budapest.
The main battle will be between Karaczony and Vitesi, wrote the Hungarian electronic publication Daily News. The first victory is available, the second will be on Sunday, the publication quotes the first reaction of Vitezi after the appeal of the retired Sentkirai to her supporters to support him. Speaking to BTA on Thursday, after a pre-election event, Vitesi said he was frustrated by the constant political battles between the ruling party and Mayor Karaçoni, while nothing is being done for Budapest.
Vitesi wrote on Facebook today that if he is elected mayor, he will not form coalitions with either FIDES or the Democratic Coalition, which is behind Caraccioni.
The mayor of Budapest reacted to the news of Szentkyrai's resignation with a post on the social network that it was a “dark and cynical political deal” and that Vitesi is a “FIDES candidate”. FIDES has betrayed the voters, as it has betrayed Budapest for the past five years, Caraccioni added in the publication, quoted by the “Daily News”.