Orbán cabinet changed the election law during the state of emergency?

Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI

Yesterday evening Semjén Zsolt, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary issued a proposal to modify the electoral law. As a consequence, it will be harder for political parties to set up an independent national list of deputies.

This new, 38-page long proposal would modify several laws concerning the elections. The most significant is the changing of the election process, making it more complicated to set up a national list of independent deputies – reports portfolio.hu.

The modification of the law of the year 2001.CCIII concerning the election of parliamentary deputies says

“A party list can be set up by a party that is able – at least in 9 counties and in the capital – to give one independent representative at least in 50 individual electoral districts.”

If a party hasn’t managed to give a candidate in at least 50 districts, it can’t set up a national list, or if it does provide 50 candidates, but some of them resign, and thus the total number drops under 50, its national list will be deleted.

Another law will be modified as well, the law on transparency of campaign costs of parliamentary deputies of the year 2013 LXXXVII. Its 3^rd paragraph will be changed by the following.

“In the general election of the parliamentary deputies each party that sets up a list of party deputies will get the following amount as financial support from the central budget:

30% of the central budget stated in paragraph 5, in case of giving a candidate in at least 50 independent electoral districts
45% of the central budget stated in paragraph 5, in case of giving a candidate in at least 80 independent electoral districts
60% of the central budget stated in paragraph 5, in case of giving a candidate in all of the independent districts.”

Based on this modification, the financial support will also be lower for those parties who are only able to present fewer candidates. If this number is under 50, they will not be provided with any resource.

According to the justification,

“the 2011 CCIII law on the election of parliamentary deputies will be modified in order to limit the misusage concerning the financial support of the campaign system – taking into consideration the feedback of the parliamentary parties as well. Thus the minimum number to set up a national list increases from 27 to 50.”

The State Audit Office found that several small parties used the funds allocated to them outside of the campaign period – ads the justification.

The proposition also contains other modifications of the National Election Office concerning the remuneration of delegates, mayors and the county election. The Parliament is expected to decide on the proposition next week.