Fidesz launches “Democracy Centre” to monitor “Tisza’s election-day abuses”

Fidesz has announced the creation of a new “Democracy Centre” aimed at collecting reports of alleged election irregularities.

Speaking at a Friday press conference, Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör said the ruling party was setting up the centre to help prevent what he described as “Tisza-linked election fraud” after “recent weeks showed that Tisza candidates and those behind them have crossed every boundary in the campaign”, according to MTI’s report.

According to Dömötör, citizens are being asked to report any irregularities or events that could influence the fairness of the vote, whether on election day itself or in the preceding hours. He urged people to document suspicious incidents with photos or videos and submit the material to the new centre. If the issue is detected inside a polling station, he said voters should immediately request that it be entered into the official minutes by the vote-counting committee.

It seems like distrust around the integrity of Sunday’s election is growing across the political spectrum. Recent polling shows that many voters on both sides already fear the other may attempt fraud.

Dömötör accuses Tisza of intimidation and vote-buying

In his remarks, Dömötör accused Tisza activists of aggressive behaviour towards Fidesz campaigners, threatening candidates, and even distributing food in exchange for votes. (Is it not ironic? Just two weeks ago, we wrote about the documentary titled The Price of a Vote, which shows that up to half a million votes could be influenced through vote-buying, intimidation, and coercion, primarily benefiting the ruling Fidesz.)

Dömötör also alleged that foreign-backed intelligence tools were being used against government politicians, alongside what he called online content restriction systems targeting right-wing voices. He further claimed that activist groups arriving from abroad in the coming days may join the opposition’s efforts.

Tisza is building its own anti-fraud network

Tisza has been building a parallel election-monitoring operation of its own. According to previous reporting by Telex, the opposition party plans to deploy two delegates to every polling station, supported by thousands of additional volunteer “watchers”, call centres and even mobile teams in areas considered especially vulnerable to vote-buying and coercion.

Tisza leader Péter Magyar has repeatedly warned supporters to document everything and avoid provocations, while candidates in several constituencies have recently filed complaints over alleged vote-buying schemes involving cash or food.

That means both major camps are entering Sunday with rival systems for monitoring and documenting possible abuses.

If you missed it: Who will cheat in the Hungarian general election on Sunday? Here’s what the latest poll found

Why this matters with only days left

With just two days until Hungarians vote, the creation of the Democracy Centre is likely to intensify already widespread fears that the losing side may challenge the legitimacy of the result.