Kúria thwarts referendum on officials’ families benefitting from public bids

Budapest (MTI) – The supreme court on Wednesday threw out a referendum initiative aimed at banning family members of mayors from winning major public projects.

The referendum, initiated by independent lawmaker Zoltán Kész, sought to ask voters whether companies owned by mayors’ families should be excluded from public procurement bids worth over 100 million forints (EUR 319,000) on the basis of a conflict of interests.

The National Election Committee rejected the initiative in January, saying that under the proposed restriction those companies could be excluded in which the relatives of municipal officials have but a minimum share. The restriction, applied in a general sense, would go against the constitutional right to enterprise, they said.

The case was elevated to the Kúria on the proponent’s appeal. The supreme court’s ruling is binding and non-appealable.

In another binding ruling on Wednesday, the supreme court approved another referendum initiative by Kész on changing campaign financing rules for parties. The question would ask people whether parties entering an election should have to pay back any public funding received if they fail to get 2 percent of the votes on national party lists.

The National Election Committee approved the question in a decision earlier this year which was challenged by the Hungarian Workers’ Party in the Kúria.

Kész now has 120 days to collect the 200,000 supporting signatures for a referendum to be called.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters