Serbia’s VMSZ party urges Vojvodina Hungarians to register for election

The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) is aiming to convince a large portion of the region’s 170,000 ethnic Hungarians to register for Hungary’s 2018 general election, István Pásztor, the party’s leader, told the weekend edition of the local Hungarian language daily Magyar Szó.

Citing data from the website of Hungary’s National Election Office (NVI), Pásztor said that so far, some 33,000 Vojvodina Hungarians have been added to the voter registry. VMSZ, however, wants this number to multiply by the spring, he said, adding that the party had launched an information campaign to help voters with registration.

Hungarian citizenship is not just symbolic, Pásztor said, arguing that it also comes with rights and obligations. In real life it means that Vojvodina Hungarians cannot be indifferent about the composition of the Hungarian parliament, he said.

“We have an interest in the steady continuation of the process that began after 2010,” Pásztor said.

“It is in our fundamental interest that the two countries maintain the relationship we have built in recent years and that Hungary’s efforts to get European Union support for Serbia continue uninterrupted.”

On the topic of Hungary’s general election Pásztor said: “It’s no secret whose victory we have an interest in.” VMSZ’s strategic partnership with Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has benefited not only VMSZ but the entire Vojvodina Hungarian community over the past 10 years, he added.

“We have an interest in the Fidesz-Christian Democrats alliance winning a parliamentary majority in the election next spring,” Pásztor said. “So that they can form a government and that we can continue what we’ve started in terms of nation building.”

Source: MTI