Sorin Oprescu officially announces his presidential bid

Romania's Capital Mayor General Sorin Oprescu officially announced he is an independent candidate for president of the country.

'I decided to make a run at Romania's presidency', said Oprescu.

Oprescu's launch into the race for the head of state mandate took place in a hotel in Bucharest, in the presence of several dozens of people, supporters and close associates.

'20 years of a transition filled with lies, on top of 45 years of communism, stop today, and here. My diagnostic is clear for all: Romania is following a wrong path, it is badly managed. (...) Romania is a country blocked at institutional, political and economic levels. (...) We have a divided society, where some take the liberty to do everything they want, and others - the majority - live humble and sad lives, frightened by the next day', underlined Oprescu in his presidential bid launch.

He maintained that the Romanians did not count in politicians' 'equation', who 'for six months carried out a battle over ministries, posts and money and finally they transformed their battle for money into everybody's issue'.

'But you exist for me. This cannot go on like that. As a man, as a father, as a granddad, as a medical doctor, as a politician I, personally, cannot go on like that. When I go to the street I do not meet party identification cards, but people (...) It is not enough that just some of us strive to make things run in a normal way, in those small islands of normality', Oprescu underscored.

Sorin Oprescu's announcement comes just two days after president Traian Basescu announced his second presidential bid and three days after the official launch in the presidential race of president of the Social Democratic Party Mircea Geoana. Two days ago as well, president of the New Generation Party Christian and Democrat (PNG-CD) George Becali announced he was also running for Romania's presidency.

agerpres.ro