Cătălin Drula: “I think the president wants me to be the mayor of the capital” / Drula submitted a law for the application of the referendum called last year by Nicușor Dan

The USR candidate for Bucharest City Hall, Cătălin Drula, submitted a bill to the Parliament on Wednesday so that the result of last year's referendum in Bucharest becomes law. Drula says that he discussed the project with the president Nicușor Dan and that he agreed with him on the final form. Nicușor Dan “wants” Drula to become the new general mayor, claims the USR candidate.

Cătălin Drula said, in a press conference organized on Wednesday at the Parliament, that the draft law “exactly transposes the question addressed to the people of Bucharest” in last year's referendum, regarding the Capital's budget.

Then, the people of Bucharest answered the following two questions:

• Do you agree that the distribution between the Bucharest City Hall and the District Town Halls of income taxes and local taxes and fees collected from the citizens of Bucharest should be approved by the General Council of the City of Bucharest?
• Do you agree that the Mayor General of the Municipality of Bucharest should issue Building Permits for the entire administrative territory of the city?

To the first question, 66% of those who voted answered affirmatively, and to the second 64%.

“By adopting this project we are returning to normality. We have only one city. Not 7 slices. Let's continue the M5 metro, another 800 km from the termie king, rehabilitations,” Drula said.

The USR candidate, who is currently a deputy from Timiș, and that is why he was able to submit the legislative project, said that he requested the adoption of the project in emergency procedure: “This draft law does not introduce any new tax. It is about our money, and the people of Bucharest.”

“I don't think any party will oppose”

Cătălin Drula said that “now you can see any form of hypocrisy” if some political parties will not vote for the project.

“This project is formally signed in my name, but it doesn't belong to me. It belongs to this city and the people of Bucharest. I haven't seen any party that says they don't want this,” said Drula

HotNews asked Cătălin Drula why he decided to submit the project only now, a moment that coincides with the date of the elections for the Capital City Hall, considering that the referendum took place about a year ago.

“As you saw last year, the political will was to follow the same path. I think now is the right time. It's important to show the hypocrisy. I want this project to pass quickly through the committees, I want to see the positioning of my opponents”, answered Drula.

The draft law can be read below:

What Cătălin Drula says when asked if he has the support of Nicușor Dan for the Capital City Hall: I met with the president two weeks ago

Asked by journalists if he relies on the support of President Nicușor Dan in the fight for the Capital City Hall, Drula said that “I rely only on the support of the people of Bucharest. The program, the team. What gives me strength in this campaign are the interactions on the street with the people of Bucharest.”

“My relationship with Nicușor Dan is public,” added the USR candidate when he was asked if the president conveyed his support for the electoral race.

Asked if he feels the support of Nicușor Dan, Cătălin Drula said: “Yes, absolutely. I think he wants me to be mayor.”

“Two weeks ago I discussed the details of the project submitted today with Nicușor Dan, in Cotroceni. I discussed it with him. He agrees with this form. It is a technical project that implements what is written in the referendum,” he also said.

Under what condition is Cătălin Drula willing to withdraw from the race for the Capital City Hall

Cătălin Drula was asked if he is willing to withdraw from the race for Bucharest in case the PSD candidate will have an advantage and a collaboration of right-wing candidates will be needed to defeat the PSD candidate. Asked if he will be able to withdraw in favor of the PNL candidate, who could be Ciprian Ciucu, Drula said that he is not asking anyone to withdraw.

“The only thing that would cause me to withdraw would be that when I walk on the street the people of Bucharest don't want my project,” he said.

Drula also spoke about the latest polls, which show Daniel Băluță, from the PSD, as the favorite for Bucharest, followed by the PNL and USR candidates.

“There have been other cases. I haven't… Last year they told us from the PNL that Mr. Burduja had 27%, and the next day Mr. Burduja got 7%. The discussion is excessive about quotas, polls. The people of Bucharest will decide who leads. And it's a beautiful thing, we see at the end of the day who the people of Bucharest voted for,” Drula said.

The elections for the Capital City Hall will take place on December 7, the governing coalition decided on Tuesday, and each party will have its own candidate. It follows that the Government will formalize the decision through a Government Decision.