At a press conference which started with a one-hour delay, incumbent Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony has announced on Friday that he is quitting the race for the joint prime ministerial candidate of the left-wing opposition parties.

Following a leaked internal letter, Budapest’s Mayor Gergely Karacsony has officially announced on Friday that after „some deliberation” he will resign as a prime ministerial candidate in the second round of the left wing’s primaries. He has called on his supporters to endorse his former rival, Peter Marki-Zay, current mayor of the town of Hodmezovasarhely in south-east Hungary. At the press conference, he justified his decision by saying that he felt he would be unable to defeat Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next year’s parliamentary elections.

At the press briefing, the mayor praised the work of Mr Marki-Zay, who came third in the first round of the primaries, and justified his own failure by saying that he had spoken too little about his faith during the campaign. However, according to reports of the conservative press, the real reason behind his decision is his failure in managing Budapest.

In his speech, Mr Marki-Zay said that it would not be possible to gain the support of three million people under the leadership of Ms Dobrev, and went on to assert his right-wing inclination. Finally, he asked leftist voters to support him in the second round of the primaries and vote for him instead of Ms Dobrev.