65,700 people have registered to cast their ballot worldwide – voting started today

The parliamentary elections and the referendum on child protection started at Hungary’s foreign representations at 11am Hungarian time, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Saturday.

The election started in South America, followed by the East Coast of North America and the rest of the American continent on Saturday, he said. New Zealand, Australia and Asia will follow, he said. Registered voters will cast ballots at 145 foreign representations in 98 countries, he said. A lockdown enforced in view of the coronavirus pandemic in Shanghai has made voting there impossible, he said.

Altogether 65,700 people have registered to vote worldwide, up from 60,000 four years ago,

Szijjártó said. Meanwhile, the number of prospective voters in London fell from 9,700 to 8,100, he added.

Hungarians living across the borders have already sent 256,089 mail-in votes,

he said. They can vote until 7pm on Sunday, he said.

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“I hope that as many as possible will participate in the election as the stakes are enormous. At stake is whether we can live in peace and security in the coming years or whether Hungary is dragged into a war,” he said. “We need to avoid the latter at any cost, and I ask everyone respectfully to participate in the election and vote for peace and security.”

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Source: MTI