New Budapest Election Rules “Brutally Slanted” For Fidesz, Says Opposition
Budapest, May 30 (MTI) – Fidesz’s proposed changes to the way representatives of the Budapest municipal assembly are elected will create the “most brutal distortion in its favour ever”, the radical nationalist Jobbik party said.
Gyorgy Szilagyi, head of Jobbik‘s Budapest chapter, said on Friday that the changes were tantamount to a “terrorist action” mounted against constitutional order and democratic elections.
“Fidesz wants the will of voters to have as little impact as possible on how mandates are distributed.”
He noted that the disproportionate size of districts makes the proposal unconstitutional. For example a vote in the small 5th district will count six times as much as one in the more populated 13th district, he added. Szilagyi also complained that one vote would count towards two posts – that of a mayor and a councillor.
The opposition Socialists said the proposal would result in a more fragmented municipal assembly in Budapest. Csaba Horvath, the head of the party’s Budapest chapter, said district mayors are likely to represent the interests of their local districts stronger than those of Budapest as a municipality, and the new setup would cause the city council to disintegrate.
The Hungarian Liberal Party (MLP) also protested against the planned changes. Fidesz is afraid the opposition would outnumber them in the municipal assembly and tries to cement its power by changing the rules before the election, the party said in a statement sent to MTI on Friday.
MLP called the proposal “legalised fraud” and said it went against the constitution on several points, the statement, signed by party leader Gabor Fodor, said. It would also turn the city’s leadership into a “loose confederation of 23 districts” and shorten the powers of the capital against the central government, the statement added.
The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) called the proposed changes “election fraud” and said it would turn to the Constitutional Court for a review, urging other opposition parties to do the same. Szabolcs Kerek-Barczy, a member of the party’s presidium, said the changes would create an undemocratic situation in which voter rights are curtailed.
Photo:Â budapest.hu
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