Costa: "It's up to the national executive to decide"
The mayor of Recife is deferring the final decision on who will represent the PT party in the October elections to its national leadership; however, the mayor still hopes to be officially nominated as a candidate.
Raphael Coutinho _PE247 – It will be up to the national executive of the Workers' Party to decide the party's future in Recife. After the resignation, last Wednesday (30), of Maurício Rands' pre-candidacy for the primaries that were to be held next Sunday (3), Mayor João da Costa, the other competitor, announced, this Thursday (31), that he remains firm in his candidacy for the party's nomination for the municipal elections. With Rands' withdrawal, Costa now expects to be ratified as the winner by the national directorate.
“When there is a primary and one side withdraws, the other is approved. It's in the PT's statutes. Therefore, our decision is to maintain and await a position from the national executive,” stated Mayor João da Costa. Another point mentioned by the mayor was the support of internal adversaries for the winner. “We made a resolution, on our first visit to the national headquarters in São Paulo, that the defeated candidate would support the winner. I believe in this possibility. I will keep not only the door, but the window open for dialogue with anyone from the PT and the Popular Front,” he revealed.
The decision, however, will rest with the national executive committee. It will be the party's top leadership that decides whether, due to Maurício Rands' withdrawal, João da Costa will be officially declared the winner of the primaries. Or, as stated in a nationwide resolution, the national directorate will intervene and nominate a name to represent the party in the elections. "Every decision of the national executive committee must be respected, but I'm not working with the idea of intervention. I'm working with the idea that I will be officially declared," stated a confident João da Costa.
During the press conference for the announcement, the mayor also declared that he will no longer accept being treated differently within the party. “I am neither greater nor lesser than any other party leader. I spent three years being ridiculed as an activist and as mayor. That time is over, and for every situation created, I will give a political response. I won't wage war, but I also won't accept this kind of thing,” the mayor stated.