Hungary’s governing Socialist party has suspended the party membership of Miklos Hagyo, a former representative in the Budapest municipal council who is suspected of taking kick-backs.
The politician, who was until recently the second highest-ranking member of the municipal body, has also resigned as head of the Socialist party’s organisation in the capital’s 12th district, the party’s spokesman said in a press briefing on Sunday.
Hagyo has come under pressure after press reports of people coming forward with claims that he had accepted boxes of money in connection with contracts involving the shamed Budapest transport company BKV.
Hagyo said that he had decided to step down because he did not want to cause problems for the Socialists during the election campaign.
Earlier, the party’s head, Ildiko Lendvai, said that any Socialist member who is proved to have got their hands dirty would be immediately barred from the party.
Hagyo denies the accusations carried in the right-leaning media.
