PNL Congress to officially designate its candidate for presidentials

PNL (Liberal Party) Congress today is to designate Theodor Stolojan as party’s candidate for the presidentials and to decide upon Liberals’ participation on their own lists in the general elections.

Both electoral campaigns will be coordinated by prime deputy chairman Valeriu Stoica. Congress delegates are to validate the fusion protocol concluded yesterday between PNL and the Moldavians’ Party, whose leader Constantin Simirad, the mayor of Iasi, is to become the 9th PNL deputy chairman.

The controversy between Valeriu Stoica and Decebal Traian Remes continued yesterday, too. After Stoica’s having asked on Wednesday Isarescu’s supporters to accept Stolojan as PNL candidate or to leave the party, 43 of the 47 PNL subsidiary leaders yesterday signed a statement asking Remes to resign.

Subsidiaries’ leaders are exerting pressure on the Permanent Bureau in order to exclude the minister of Finances from the party. PNL leader Mircea Ionescu-Quintus yesterday stated that subsidiaries’ statement was only a proposal. “The Permanent Bureau will not rush to dismiss Remes,” he explained.

PNL general secretary Ovidiu Draganescu rejected the accusations formulated by Remes, as to the way Stoica selected Congress participants and the PNL members who were supposed to take the floor.

Draganescu said that the selection was operated on county organisations and added that everybody would be free to take the floor at the Congress.

On the other hand, Remes announced yesterday that he would not resign from PNL. “I am not leaving the party. I’m waiting for other people to dismiss me,” Remes said.

He deemed Stoica’s statements as “parrot-like talk” resembling the sound of a “broken gramophone.” He pointed out that party members should vote only if they have the possibility to make a choice.