Zsolt Borkai, the recently re-elected mayor of Győr, in north-west Hungary, who was linked to a sex scandal, will resign after the first meeting of the city’s assembly on Friday.
 
In an open letter to the citizens of Győr published on Wednesday, Borkai, who recently left the ruling Fidesz party, said he had intended to carry on leading the city “despite the relentless stream of accusations”. He changed his mind to avoid the “events around him” from hindering the development of the city, he said.

Video footage published shortly before the Oct. 13 local elections showed Borkai cavorting on a yacht. Although he was re-elected by a narrow margin, he quit Fidesz a few days after the election.

 

UPDATE

Commenting on the announcement, the leftist Democratic Coalition’s spokesman Balázs Barkóczi told a press conference that Borkai was staying on until Friday so that the city assembly could elect Fidesz representatives as deputy mayors at its Thursday meeting. He “recommended” to the ruling party that it should find a “widely respected” person capable of leading the city until the election. The DK spokesman also called on the Hungarian Audit Office to review the Győr authority’s “suspect affairs”.

DK’s Tímea Glázer, who also ran for mayor in Győr, said Borkai’s resignation was “good for the city” but it would have been “fairer” had he stepped down before or immediately after the election.