Hungary’s 2022 general election: Here are the main election rules and dates

President János Áder has set April 3 as the date of Hungary’s 2022 general election.

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The election campaign officially starts 50 days before the date of the ballot — on February 12 this time round.

Hungary’s 7.8 million voters will have the opportunity to cast two ballots in the single-round election deciding 199 seats.

One ballot directly elects lawmakers in 106 individual constituencies.

A formula is used to allocate the remaining seats based on votes cast for a party list.

Prospective candidates must secure 500 signatures by February 25 to run in an individual constituency.

A party may draw up a national list if they have at least an individual candidate in 71 constituencies in at least fourteen counties and Budapest. Parties must submit their national lists to the National Election Committee (NVB) by February 26.

Hungarian voters with an address in Hungary who reside abroad must go to an embassy or consulate to cast their ballots on the day of the election. Beforehand they must register with a local notary by March 25.

Those 420,000 Hungarians who do not have an address in Hungary but registered to vote by mail prior to or after the previous, 2018 ballot will not be required to register again.

Non-Hungarian residents who have Hungarian citizenship will also have the right to vote. They must register with the National Election Office (NVI) by March 9.

Voters who register themselves as a member of a national minority will cast their ballot for the list of the respective minority rather than for national parties. A national minority may field candidates on a list with the recommendation of at least one percent of their national minority voters.

Under the law,

Hungary’s new parliament must be formed by May 3 at the latest.

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Source: MTI