May 4, 2024
NEWS

PSD chair asks candidate for Bucharest Mayor to clear up accusations against him

Claudio Ctin07 mins
PSD chair asks candidate for Bucharest Mayor to clear up accusations against him

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who is also chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), stated that discussions within the Coalition tackled  Cătălin Cîrstoiu’s candidacy amidst reports of a potential withdrawal from the race for the Capital City Hall. Speaking to journalists in Doha on Wednesday, the PSD leader emphasized that Dr. Cîrstoiu should hold a press conference to address integrity accusations before Coalition leaders proceed with their endorsement.

“The most correct approach is to hold a press conference and answer all the allegations. I did not have this discussion either with Mr. Ciucă or with Cătălin Cîrstoiu about the withdrawal. We had discussions in the Coalition, as you also have in the newsrooms regarding certain things reported. It is normal that we had these discussions with the technical staff and the political people. We didn’t have a specific discussion of withdrawing someone or bringing in another candidate. The first step is to hold this conference. We cannot move forward unless we clear up all these allegations.

After taking into account that Mr. Cîrstoiu must appear in front of the press and explain all these accusations. All these accusations do not need to be explained to me, they need to be explained to the people of Bucharest. I did not ask him for clarification, he must explain to the people of Bucharest, I am prime minister and co-president of a coalition. I am neither a judge nor an ANI specialist (…)

Mr. Cîrstoiu will come out and explain, he has not been sent to court, no one has sent anything regarding him to a criminal investigation body. Really, he needs to come out and explain. First let Mr. Cîrstoiu come to explain.
We’re not risking anything because he hasn’t submitted his candidacy yet. Until then, he must hold a press conference to clarify all aspects. I am neither a prosecutor, nor a judge, nor an integrity inspector, I am a politician, I do not make decisions in the judiciary and I do not comment on a decision of a magistrate. Because I appointed Mr. Cîrstoiu, it is right for him to go out in public to explain. At the moment, no one has proven that he took any money or that he violated the law”, stated Marcel Ciolacu in Doha.
The statements of the PSD president come in the context in which the leaders of the Coalition are waiting for the doctor Cîrstoiu to withdraw himself from the campaign for the elections in Bucharest, before Monday, when, as they claimed to the questions asked by the press, he should  officially submit application. Political sources told Digi24.ro that on Monday, in the meeting of the PNL – PSD Coalition, those who advanced the option of replacing Cîrstoiu were the PSD leaders.
According to the cited sources, Marcel Ciolacu allegedly told the liberals that “the PSD electorate does not have a problem with Piedone”.
In his turn, the PNL chairman Nicolae Ciucă declared on Tuesday that PNL agreed with PSD to support a candidate who would be the joint candidate of the governing coalition, and Piedone “is not a member of PSD or PNL, so we cannot support him”. Ciucă said that the leaders of the Coalition asked Cîrstoiu to hold a press conference in which he would clarify the accusations brought against him in connection with the activity at the University Hospital, where the Government Control Body allegedly found a series of irregularities, as well as with the work performed at his personal clinic.
April 30 is the deadline for submitting candidacies for the local elections. In all recent polls, Catalin Cirstoiu would rank third for the Capital City mayor seat, after incumbent mayor Nicusor Dan and Cristian Popescu Piedone.

The post PSD chair asks candidate for Bucharest Mayor to clear up accusations against him appeared first on The Romania Journal.

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