National Liberal Party (PNL) First Deputy Chairman Rares Bogdan said on Tuesday that the dates put forth by PNL for this year’s presidential election are November 10 and 24.

„The dates put forth by the National Liberal Party are the constitutional ones, November 10 and November 24. That is the constitutional date,” Bogdan said at the PNL headquarters after meeting Social Democratic Party (PSD) leaders at the Government House.

He added that PSD suggested September 15 or 29 as the dates for the election alleging to a discussion this March inside the PNL -PSD ruling coalition.

„The arguments were the discussion in March, but which had the two variables: 50% plus one on the list, and a tandem candidacy for the presidential election after we see the results. The votes showed us that there was a difference between the cumulative scores of the two parties, PNL and PSD, and the list of MEPs, PNL garnered almost 32%, 2.5 million votes, PSD almost 36%, 2.9 million votes, and the common list only 4.8 million,” Bogdan added.

He said that the goal of the coalition was achieved because it was possible to capture half plus one of the MEP seats in the June 9 European election. „Which is very important. We took 19 MEP seats out of 34.”

Answering a question about PSD arguing that the entire discussion in the coalition would be based on the fact that a PNL candidate would not have chances to progress to a second round of the presidential election if the election were organised on the basis of the initial agreement, Bogdan said: „It is an argumentation and an idea thrown into the public space that is at least inelegant. There is no question, because we do not make election for parties and for the people. We make choices for the citizens of Romania and for what Romania represents in terms of stability and in terms of foreign relations.”

He added that the PNL electoral pool is 2.5 million voters, and has „the best profile of a presidential candidate by far.”

„This is the primary electoral pool that the PNL national leader, the presidential candidate, targets for the first round. At this moment we do not have a problem, given that we will start electioneering, we will bring arguments. We have by far the best profile of a presidential candidate, a man who knows international affairs, a good strategist, a tactician, an extremely balanced, rational man, a man who keeps his word and the only one to have promised to withdraw voluntarily just to make room for a coalition colleague, and he did so despite almost all the analysts and commentators being incredulous.”

AGERPRES