Direct presidential elections and overhaul of Hungary’s political system demanded by opposition

Opposition Jobbik lawmaker Koloman Brenner said on Wednesday that Hungarians should have the right to pick a president through direct election, and called for a comprehensive revamp of legislature.

He told a presser that the “current heated political atmosphere” had revealed that the president was unable to fulfil his tasks as enshrined in the constitution, which is to represent the unity of the Hungarian nation. He added that recent statements by President Tamás Sulyok had been “extremely partisan”. Jobbik is proposing a comprehensive revamp of public law, Brenner said. The current single-round election, “set up by Fidesz, a party with excessive powers,” secured the dominance of a single party in parliament, he said. In such a situation, a president elected by parliament “is practically guaranteed to be politically biased”, he said.

Jobbik has prepared a comprehensive legislative package based on Austrian and Czech examples, which includes the direct election of the president, the reintroduction of two-round elections and the requirement to finish 8-year primary education to obtain the right to vote, he said.

Read also:

• Minister Rogán on the US sanctions list: here are the first harsh reactions from the Orbán cabinet
• Fidesz: Early election not on the cards

Featured image: depositphotos.com