Election 2014 – E-PM leader Bajnai to return mandate

Budapest, April 9 (MTI) – Gordon Bajnai, the leader of the opposition E-PM party, said today he would return his mandate and not sit in Hungary’s next parliament.

The ex-premier won a mandate in the second place of the joint national list of five opposition parties in the general election on April 6.

Bajnai told an informal press roundtable that he would formally take up his mandate, but then return it, and it would then be given to a fellow E-PM candidate. This procedure is important because if he did not receive his mandate formally, the seat would go to the next-in-line on the joint five-party list, in this case, to Timea Muller Szabo, representing the Socialist Party.

Asked about the reason for his decision, Bajnai said in his view, the main “stage” of opposition actions would in future be outside parliament. He added he could better serve his E-PM party away from parliament. Bajnai said no final decision had been made yet as to who would get his mandate from E-PM.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters