UDMR's Kelemen: UDMR will have candidate to run for president; to be designated on 28 August

The Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) will have its own candidate to run for president, Union leader Kelemen Hunor stated on Friday, mentioning that he will be designated on 28 August, but adding that he isn't keen of "necessarily" being the candidate. "We will have a candidate to run for president in 2019, too, just as we have had ever since 1996. That's all I can say right now, namely that there will certainly be a candidate on our behalf. On 28 August we will have a meeting and then, we will made the nominal decision, we will make the nomination," Klemen Hunor told RFI radio station. He mentioned that, immediately after the election to the European Parliament, the UDMR leadership and the chairmen of the territorial branches decided that the Union will have a candidate, following to establish who will run. "The most convenient is for the party leader to run, it is the simplest version, to say so, with the least complications within [the Union], but after I have been nominated twice, I am not tempted in the sense that it has to necessarily be me. We will see what the colleagues say, but the competition is open or the possibility to join whoever wants until 28 August, we haven't established before and we won't establish prior to 28," the UDMR Chairman stated, when asked if he is tempted to run. He also said that the UDMR permanently had a responsible discourse and not a radical one, but, when there are matters which need to be said without reservations, he doesn't agree to "hide behind the fingers." "Our discourse is a constant one of almost 30 years, a discourse which has permanently been responsible towards both our community and Romania. Therefore, I don't think that the UDMR has a radical discourse. Certainly when there are matters which must be outspoken, we will say them without reservations. I don't agree to hide behind the fingers and permanently draft extremely-extremely diplomatic messages," Klemen Hunor added, when asked whether the political discourse of the formation became more radical over the past years. AGERPRES (RO - author: Alina Novaceanu, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Adina Panaitescu)