Socialists call on President Áder to condemn election office incident

Budapest, February 29 (MTI) – The opposition Socialists have called on President János Áder to condemn an incident which took place at the election office last Tuesday, when the party’s attempt to submit a question for a referendum on Sunday shopping restrictions was physically prevented by what the Socialists described as a “private army”.

István Nyakó attempted to submit a referendum initiative concerning Hungary’s Sunday shopping ban but could not get inside the National Election Office. Zoltán Lukács, another Socialist politician who was there with Nyako, said the entrance to the building was “blocked by 15-20 people, pumped up and bald”. The group claimed to be “applicants”, too, Lukacs said, and suggested that the “aggressive provocation” had been organised by the government to thwart the Socialist referendum proposal.

The Socialists ask Áder to make it clear that he stands on the side of democracy and that he will do everything in his power to restore the democratic operations of the election office, deputy group leader Zoltán Lukács told a press conference on Monday.

Socialist lawmaker István Nyakó, who submitted the party’s initiative for a referendum on Sunday shopping restrictions last week, has complained that no investigation has been ordered into the events of what the Socialists are calling “black Tuesday”. He has filed a report to the police and said that the fairness of all elections could come into question if the national election committee which oversees the office’s operations fails to investigate this case.

Photo: MTI

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