From Iceland — President Refuses To Give Straight Answer On Candidacy

President Refuses To Give Straight Answer On Candidacy

Published January 12, 2012

Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has refused to answer direct questions from the press regarding whether or not he will run for office this year.
As reported, the president insinuated in his New Year’s Day address to the nation that he would possibly not run for another term. Ólafur has been the president for the past 16 years now, and stated that leaving the office would give him the freedom to express his opinions more freely, and to concentrate on matters that mean a lot to him.
Since then, speculation has run high about whether or not he will run, and who could be among the other possible candidates. A recent poll conducted by Vísir showed most people wanting him to stay on.
RÚV now reports that the president has denied repeated requests to clarify the matter once and for all. They also report that a number of candidates are waiting on the president to make the matter clear before they announce their candidacies.
The deadline for announcing candidacy for the president of Iceland is May 26.

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