Karácsony wins opposition preselection for Budapest mayor

Gergely Karácsony, the Budapest mayoral candidate of the Socialist-Párbeszéd alliance, has won the preselection process organised by some opposition parties ahead of the autumn local election, György Magyar, head of the committee coordinating the ballot, said in Budapest on Wednesday.

The second round of the preselection process was held between June 20 and 26. Fully 68,240 Budapest residents participated.

Karácsony garnered 33,355 votes.

Fully 25,093 voters supported Olga Kálmán, the leftist Democratic Coalition’s candidate, while 9,792 voted for Momentum’s Gabor Kerpel-Fronius.

At a joint press conference with Kerpel-Fronius and party leaders, Karácsony said the “era of rivalry within the opposition” has ended. They will look forward and work together to change Budapest, he said.

Karácsony said Kálmán and Kerpel-Fronius would have important roles to play in his campaign. Tasks ahead include setting up a campaign team and reaching agreements on candidates in Budapest’s 23 districts, in cooperation with the other parties, he said.