Parliament committee head reports ‘national risk’ over election office incident

Budapest, February 25 (MTI) – The head of parliament’s national security committee reported “a national security risk” to the interior minister over events that took place during the submission of a referendum question at the National Election Office (NVI) earlier this week.

A Socialist politician was prevented on Tuesday from submitting his referendum initiative in time for approval because the entrance of the National Election Office was “blocked by 15-20 heavily-built, bald-shaved men”, according to reports.

National security committee head Zsolt Molnar said this incident constituted a national security risk and he urged the interior minister, Sandor Pinter, to investigate whether a crime had been committed. Molnar said the “thugs did more than just to prevent a citizen from exercising his political right, they waged an attack on Hungarian democracy”.

Molnar said some envisioned that the “era of private armies” was approaching, when political conflicts are settled in illegal ways, by physical force. This would mean the fall of democratic, constitutional order, he said.

Hungary’s referendum rules state that while a question is being examined by a court, it is not possible to submit another question on the same subject, which is what made the timing of the submission significant. The referendum question was concerning a ban on Sunday shopping, which the Socialists would like to have removed through the binding force of a popular vote.

Photo: MTI

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