Iulian Dumitrescu submitted his candidacy for a new mandate as head of CJ Prahova. The liberal is prohibited from holding office

The president of PNL Prahova, Iulian Dumitrescu, indicted for corruption, placed under judicial control and banned from exercising the position of president of the Prahova County Council, submitted, on Wednesday, his signatures and the candidacy file for a second mandate as president of the Council County, according to News.ro.

In a press release from PNL Prahova, it is said that Dumitrescu decided to run because “local elected officials requested” him to do so, citing the continuity and performance of the Prahova County Council under his leadership. Also, Iulian Dumitrescu claims that he decided to run for a new mandate “out of respect for the people of Prague”.

“Out of respect for Prahiveni and local elected officials”

“It was not a simple decision, but, out of respect for the people of Prahoven and for the local elected officials, I decided to run for a new mandate and to provide continuity at the level of the County Council. Together with these people – mayors, vice-mayors, local and county councilors -, we managed to do in 3 years in Prahova what was not done in 30 years before”, said the leader of the Prahova liberals.

Regarding the criminal case in which he is accused of corruption, Iulian Dumitrescu maintains that he is innocent and that “he has the legal and constitutional right to run for office, he collaborates with the criminal investigation institutions, he considers himself innocent and expects a solution as soon as possible from the Justice”, the PNL press release states.

“I am entering the electoral competition as a man, openly and confidently, with the determination of a man who has been through the storm and with the conviction that I have the duty to complete projects that are so necessary for the people of Prahoven to have a better life”, stated Dumitrescu.

He even claimed that one of the reasons that led him to run for a new mandate as president of CJ Prahova is represented by the pressures PSD would have put on the county mayors, through threats, defamation or blocking of investments.

“The goal was to force the mayors to switch to the PSD, which has kept Prahova in place for 30 years. If there hadn’t been these mafia-type attacks on the county mayors, I probably wouldn’t even be a candidate anymore. However, I have the obligation to be in solidarity with the mayors and I guarantee them that the projects started in Prahova will be completed. I, the mayors, local and county councilors, PNL candidates will do everything possible so that the mafia of the Cosma clan does not return to the decision buttons”, adds Dumitrescu.

A candidate accused of bribery

Iulian Dumitrescu is being investigated by the DNA under judicial control after allegedly receiving a bribe of 16 million lei (over 3.2 million euros) from a businessman from whom he had asked 47.5 million lei. After being indicted, Dumitrescu announced that he was resigning from all the positions he held in the PNL, namely as first vice-president of the PNL and president of the PNL Prahova, but he did not formalize his resignation from the head of the county organization.

“Considering the existence of the file in which the DNA brought the publicly presented accusations to me, I have taken the decision to resign from all positions in the party, because the party has nothing to do with this case,” wrote Iulian Dumitrescu on Facebook on February 1, the day in that the anti-corruption prosecutors placed him under judicial control in the file in which he is charged with bribery and false statements.

PNL President Nicolae Ciucă has so far avoided clearly specifying whether the party will accept a new candidacy of Dumitrescu, in the context of his problems with the judiciary. “At the moment I do not have a proposal from the Prahova branch. When I have it, we will make a decision, the decision will be made by the National Political Bureau. We do not have a proposal that will be analyzed by the National Political Bureau”, Ciucă declared on April 18, on a Digi24 show.