– It is with regret that we have to announce that Vidar Kleppe has chosen to leave the Norwegian Democrats to start his own list. He is therefore considered to have been expelled from the party. We wish him the best of luck with his new initiative.
The party writes that in one press release Wednesday evening. Kleppe helped form the party in 2002, then under the name Demokratene.
– I have asked to receive this in writing. I will read the resolution and see if it is in line with the statutes, Kleppe adds The friend of the fatherland who mentioned the matter first.
The Norway Democrats claim the reason for the disagreement between Kleppe and the party’s national board is that Kleppe “does not accept to comply with normal procedures in board work”.
– He insists that he can speak when he wants about what he wants, even though the board is working on a joint statement, the party writes further.
Kleppe has previously said that he will not stand for election for the party. Instead, he stands for election for his own local list.
In the press release from the party, they add that all members who stand on the alternative list to Kleppe are considered to have actively withdrawn from the list that was created.
Party leader Geir Ugland Jacobsen tells Fædrelandsvennen that no exclusion decision has been made.
– No, it is not. They deregister themselves by standing on another list, says Ugland Jacobsen.
In recent weeks, there has been an ongoing conflict between the party and Kleppe following a post on Kleppe’s own page on Facebook. There, Kleppe condemned the war in Ukraine and asked that Putin be brought before international justice. The national board reacted and believed that Kleppe, who was then the national spokesperson, was acting on his own.
(©NTB)
