LMP: Fidesz referendum law amendment proposal ‘ploy to avoid scandal’

Budapest, April 13 (MTI) – The green opposition LMP is calling for major changes to the referendum law and sees the ruling Fidesz party’s amendment proposal as no more than a ploy to avoid a scandal, party leader András Schiffer said on Wednesday.

The Fidesz proposal will not make it easier for people to have a say in the country’s affairs, Schiffer told a press conference.

After the incident at the election office at the end of February, LMP initiated consultations with parliamentary groups about amending the election law, he said. The aim of amendments proposed by LMP would be more than to prevent the abuse of the law, he added.

Fidesz initially showed an openness to amendments on campaign financing rules and regulations for the legal standing of election committee members, but these amendments are missing from the justice ministry proposal that parliament started to debate on Wednesday, Schiffer said.

LMP’s expert on public involvement, Istvan Ferenczi, said the party wants to radically expand opportunities for direct democracy, and grassroots referendum initiatives would be granted protection even from government and presidential interference. LMP proposes that constitutional amendments should be possible on the basis of a referendum and the threshold for the validity of local initiatives should be lowered, he added. The rules of campaign financing and information supplies should be made stricter and state bodies or local council organisations should be banned from participating in campaigns, he said.

Photo: MTI (illustration)

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