- The regulations concerning the right to vote are laid down by the
Constitution of the Hungarian Republic.
- The regulations of the substantive law concerning the elections to the
European Parliament are established in the Act No. CXIII. of 2003. on the
Election of the members of the European Parliament, which at the same time also
amends the Act No. C. of 1997. on the Electoral procedure when establishing the
rules for the electoral procedure of the European Parliament election.
- The Act authorizes the Minister of Interior to lay down the detailed
arrangements for the conduct of the election in a regulation.
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Proportional representation: The election is conducted in
a proportional system, based on party lists. Only those party lists, which have
obtained more than 5% of the total amount of valid votes, will take part in the
allocation of mandates. |
Allocation of seats: 24 seats, which will be
distributed according to the D’Hondt method. The country will be considered as
one constituency. Voters will be voting for party lists with no preferential
votes.
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Deadline for registration: The party
lists containing the candidates shall be submitted to the National Election
Committee, 30 days before the election day at the latest. The National Election
Committee decides on it within three days after the submission. |
Deposit: None.
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Conditions: Lists can be put forward by parties registered
according to the Act on the operation and financial management of political
parties. In order to put forward a list, a party needs to collect at least
20.000 endorsements.
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Incompatibilities: A candidate may not
be the member of election bodies, and may only stand for election in one Member
State of the European Union (also see below Voting/Standing for election). |
Polling day: The polling day is set by
the President of the Republic, 72 days before the election at the latest.
According to the Hungarian traditions, elections usually take place on Sunday,
therefore the most probable date for the polling day is the 13th of June
2004. |
Other elections on the same day: There
is no legal prohibition for holding other elections on the day of the European
Parliament election. We are already aware of some municipal by-elections and
local referenda set for the same day. |
Polling hours: from 8 am to 7 pm. |
The count begins: Counting of votes
begins after the close of the polling stations. In Hungary, polling stations
close at 7. p.m.; at the diplomatic missions abroad this is settled based on
the Act, but polling statons there close at the latest the same time as in
Hungary. |
Final results: In Hungary, it is
regulated by law that informative data on the non-official results of the
election shall be published by the election offices. Final, official results
can only be established, however, based on the original records. The
informative data on the non-official results of the European Parliament
election, as well as the election results may only be published after the end
of elections in every Member State of the European Union. The final result of
the election is published by the National Election Committee in the Magyar
Közlöny (Official Journal of Hungary). |
Right to vote: Every Hungarian, who
reached the age of majority and has a residence in Hungary has the right to
vote, given that he/she is not excluded from this right. The list of voters is
established for each settlement based on the data of the central register of
personal data and addresses. Those citizens, who – according to the data
provided by the other Member States of the European Union – have decided to
practice their right to vote in another Member State, are deleted from the list
of voters in Hungary. Citizens of other European Union Member States, who have
a residence in Hungary, have also the right to vote, if he/she meets the
requirements for the Hungarian voters, and asks for his inclusion in the list
of voters. These citizens receive a personal notification until the 1st of
March, 2004, and may ask for their inclusion into the list of voters until the
30th of April at the leader of the local election office competent at their
residence. |
Voting is not compulsory. |
Voting by post: Voting by mail is not
possible. Citizens, who are not present at their place of residence on the
polling day, may vote with a certificate within the territory of Hungary.
Citizens, who are abroad on the polling day may vote at the embassies, given
that they asked for their inclusion to the register of voters at the diplomatic
missions 30 days before the polling day at the latest. |
Right to stand for election: All voters have the right to
stand for election as candidates on party lists. The candidate shall declare
that he/ she has the right to vote, and that he/ she does not have a function,
which is incompatible with the membership of the European Parliament, or in
case he obtains a mandate, he resigns from that function. In order to register
a candidate who is the citizen of an other European Union Member State, a
certificate of the competent authorities of the Member State of which the
candidate is a national, shall be attached, stating that he/ she is eligible
for election. Being a candidate is not limited by the fact that the mandate to
be obtained may be incompatible with other functions.
The Act on the election of the members of the European Parliament does not
lay down regulations concerning the incompatibilities. The legal status of the
members of Parliament will be regulated by a separate act, which is currently
under elaboration.
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Funding: This issue is not regulated by
the Act on the election of members of the European Parliament. |
Official campaign starting date: The
official campaign starts, when the President of the Republic formally calls the
election. By law, this should happen at least 72 days before the election. |
Media access: The Act on the electoral procedure and the
Act on the radio and television broadcasting regulate the media access for the
political parties during election campaigns. During the campaign period,
broadcasters may publish political advertisements based on equal conditions for
each party.
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Opinion polls: No opinion polls may be
published between the 5th of June and the 13th of June, until the close of
polling stations. |