A leaked audio recording reportedly captures a Hungarian consul and the head of the Hungarian National Council in Serbia discussing voter data, the distribution of postal ballots and political preferences ahead of Hungary’s 12 April parliamentary election. The council’s president has described the report as an attempt to discredit him but has neither confirmed nor denied the recording’s authenticity.
The Serbian-based news outlet Szabad Magyar Szó published excerpts from what it says is a recording of a briefing for activists involved in organising postal voting among ethnic Hungarians in Vojvodina before the election. The exact location and date of the meeting are unknown, although the outlet believes it took place before 23 March, probably in Novi Sad.
According to the report, the voices of Ervin Simon, a consul at Hungary’s consulate in Subotica, and Árpád Fremond, president of the Hungarian National Council (MNT), can be recognised on the recording. Its sound quality is reportedly poor, and the outlet believes it may have been made secretly using a mobile phone.
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Personal data and instructions on political support
At the beginning of the briefing, Simon reportedly told activists that, acting on instructions from the Hungarian government, they would be given the personal data of people holding both Serbian and Hungarian citizenship.
Fremond allegedly instructed participants to work exclusively as activists of the Concordia Minoritatis Hungaricae (CMH), the civil organisation involved in coordinating postal voting in Vojvodina, rather than displaying signs associated with the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ).
The recording also reportedly includes remarks about political preferences. Fremond is heard saying that more than 90% of Serbian and Croatian voters would support the Fidesz-KDNP alliance, and that activists did not need to persuade them extensively.
In another excerpt, he allegedly tells activists not to engage with people they considered enemies or fools, but simply to leave their voting envelopes in their letterboxes.
The report also describes an operation involving around 800 activists. According to the recording, anyone delivering 100 letters would receive EUR 100. Fremond reportedly referred to the total cost of paying the 800 participants as a considerable sum.
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Fremond calls the report an attempt to discredit him
Szabad Magyar Szó contacted Fremond for a response. He described the publication as an attempt to damage his reputation, pointing to its timing during the final days of the campaign for Serbia’s national council elections.
He did not confirm or deny the recording’s authenticity, saying that establishing its origin and verifying its contents would take time. He said he intended to deal with the matter after the election.
The CMH had previously announced that it signed an agreement with the Serbian Post in 2022 to forward postal ballots. It also said it could help voters complete the identification declaration and return sealed ballot envelopes.
The Hungarian National Election Office states that registered Hungarian citizens without a residential address in Hungary can vote by post. Another person may deliver a sealed reply envelope to an election office, but the identification declaration must be signed by the voter personally.
