Election committee rejects LMP board member’s Paks referendum initiative

The National Election Committee (NVB) rejected on Thursday a submission by green opposition LMP board member Péter Ungár which had sought approval for referendum questions concerning the addition of further reactor blocks to the Paks nuclear plant.

Ungár’s first question read: “Do you agree that a seventh and further reactor blocks should be built at Paks?”

The NVB rejected, 7-2, the question saying that it would impact an international agreement and was misleading.

The second question read: “Do you agree that further reactor blocks should be built at the Paks plant beyond the current ones and those that will be built under the contract signed between Hungary and Russia in 2014?” This question was rejected based on the same justification.

András Patyi, the head of the NVB, also commented on recent remarks by Ungár that his party would continue to submit referendum questions to the “Fidesz-led NVB” until its leader “resigns out of frustration”.

Patyi rejected that the committee was headed by ruling Fidesz and said that Ungár’s aim to continue submitting referendum questions in an effort to “obstruct” the NVB went against the function of the institution of the referendum.

The committee also rejected a question by the NET Party that would have asked voters if they agreed that internet access should be made free. In its justification, the NVB said that if internet access were to be made free by barring service providers from charging their clients, such a measure would violate the principle of freedom of enterprise and fair competition enshrined in Hungary’s constitution. The committee also said that if the costs incurred by service providers were to be covered by the state budget, the question would concern the content of the state budget, a subject matter that is ineligible for a referendum.

The NVB also rejected a referendum initiative on giving men with 42 years of health insurance coverage the option of early retirement.

The NVB’s decisions are not legally binding and can be appealed at the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court, within 15 days.

featured image: atomeromu.hu

Source: MTI