Presidential candidate Nicușor Dan stated on Saturday that USR will not support him financially in any way, but only through potential individual loans from some party members.
He mentioned that up to this point, he has not received donations from USR members for the campaign, „but probably there will be, in their personal capacity.”
Nicușor Dan emphasized that USR supports him in the race for the Presidency "just like PMP, Forța Dreptei (...) and citizens and parties that support us."
"The only person who will pay for this campaign is me," stated the presidential candidate, as quoted by Agerpres.
Referring to the withdrawal of USR support for candidate Elena Lasconi, Nicușor Dan believes that "the important thing is that the options have been clarified at this moment."
The presidential candidate detailed that there is now a "clarity of the parties in this electoral campaign" between "a direction that is Russia" whose exponents would be Victor Ponta and George Simion, a direction "where we don't change anything," mentioning Crin Antonescu, and "a direction of change," represented by him.
"I am very optimistic that Romanians will discern what is important," stated Nicușor Dan.
Context
USR voted on Thursday in the leadership meeting to support Nicușor Dan in the presidential elections. Elena Lasconi, present at the meeting, did not vote and considers the decision non-statutory. She threatened to sue USR.
It is essentially a confirmation of Wednesday's decision by the USR Political Bureau to stop funding the electoral campaign for Elena Lasconi and to support Nicușor Dan.
According to sources cited by News.ro, within the Political Committee meeting on Thursday, the support for Nicușor Dan was at 75%.
22% of the votes were against this support, while the rest abstained.
According to the party's statute, the Secretary General is obliged to implement the decision.
Elena Lasconi was present at the meeting but did not express her vote, considering it non-statutory. She ruled out withdrawing her candidacy and stated that she will remain at the helm of the party and will not resign.
However, because Thursday's meeting is informal, USR representatives announced that there will be another Political Committee meeting on April 24, where the vote to support Nicușor Dan will be repeated.
On Friday, USR decided to cut off any financial ties with Elena Lasconi: the approximately 200,000 euros spent so far on her campaign will not be reimbursed from the state budget.
The decision marks a clear repositioning of USR in the presidential race. Strategic discussions will follow with Nicușor Dan, the candidate the party continues to support.
In response, Elena Lasconi stated that she is not for sale and is not a bargaining chip for anyone, but she does not believe she will even have access to the USR headquarters anymore.