municipal elections 2019

Local elections – Socialists ready for campaign

socialists campaign

The Socialist Party is ready for the local election campaign starting on Saturday and has a recipe to defeat “Fidesz’s little kings”, the opposition party’s leader, Bertalan Tóth, told a news conference on Friday.

Tóth said that in Budapest and in county seats, as well as in localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, the opposition parties had forged alliances.

The ruling Fidesz’s party’s biggest headache, he added, was that opposition parties were no longer fighting each other but cooperating everywhere to replace “local Fidesz kings”.

The Socialists aim to set up local authorities that closely work with locals and provide good social services, schools and health care while maintaining transparency and fighting pollution, he said.

In Budapest, the party wants public utility providers to coordinate reconstruction works. It also wants to set up a unified parking system and renew public housing schemes, he said.

The Socialists will put a ceiling on rents, Tóth added.

Of the 23 county seats in Hungary, the Socialist Party is fielding candidates in 9 seats and around 600 candidates nationwide, he said. In other localities, the party is getting behind candidates of the leftist Democratic Coalition, the Momentum Movement and nationalist Jobbik, he said.

Liberals support main opposition candidate for Budapest mayor

opposition mayor candidate

Hungary’s Liberal Party on Thursday announced that it would support Gergely Karácsony, the joint Budapest mayoral candidate of the Socialist, Párbeszéd and Democratic Coalition (DK) parties, in the municipal election scheduled for October 13.

“Apart from Karácsony, merely pro-Fidesz candidates have remained in contention for the post,” Ádám Sermer, the liberals’ former candidate, told a press conference in front of the Parliament.

Karácsony said that the “multicoloured camp of those wanting change in Budapest” has now become “complete and even more colourful”.

Voters who want change in the city have now one candidate to vote for while those satisfied with the current situation can vote for either Fidesz candidate István Tarlós or other candidates backed by the ruling party, Karacsony said.

Karácsony presented the opposition’s mayoral candidates in Budapest districts. DK’s Erzsébet Németh Gy, running for mayor in district 17, noted that the talks with the liberals had been initiated by her party.

Socialist Kata Tutto, the opposition’s joint mayoral candidate for district 5, said she would make the district in the city centre climate neutral within 15 years.

She vowed to fight depopulation, saying that while the city is riddled with a housing crisis and exorbitant rents, properties in the district function as hotels or stand empty.

“If nothing changes, the heart of the city will become an empty, filthy jungle of ornamental stone”, she said.

Opposition introduces 11th district mayoral candidate

mayor candidate 11 district

The local council elections on October 13 will be a day of change, Gergely Karácsony, the opposition’s joint candidate for Budapest mayor, said on Friday, introducing the opposition’s local mayoral candidate in Budapest’s 11th district.

The majority of Budapest residents want change and parties that run jointly against ruling Fidesz’s candidates understand their responsibility, Karácsony said introducing Imre László of the Democratic Coalition (DK).

“As a result, Budapest residents will be able to take their city back from Fidesz oligarchs,” he added.

Karácsony said Budapest people already knew what it felt like when their hospitals, schools and other institutions are taken away from them.

“The closer something gets to [Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán, the least effectively it will work,” he added.

László said the six parties and several civil organisations supporting him have joined forces because they believe in the importance of serving locals and not because they want to seize power.

Opposition introduces 21st district mayoral candidate

mayor candidate 21 district

Budapest’s 21st district is in need of development schemes that will better the lives of its residents, Gergely Karácsony, the opposition’s joint candidate for Budapest mayor, said on Friday, introducing the opposition’s local mayoral candidate.

The district needs more green areas rather than “the buildings of a creeping Olympics” or a wrestling arena, Karácsony told a press conference.

“It’s not Szilárd Némeths but leaders who will help the local community that are needed,” he said, referring to the local leader of the ruling party.

Karácsony said the autumn local election was not just about the race between Fidesz and the opposition parties, but also about “taking the city back together”.

Éva Erdősi, the local candidate, said she wanted to be a mayor for all of the district’s residents. She said the locals were tired of being called “the capital’s poorest district”, insisting that this had to change.

In a statement, Németh said that efforts in the past two municipal cycles had helped the district to be “constructive, pay off its debts, and focus on children”, adding that the opposition would “again destroy” the district if its candidates won power in the upcoming election.

Németh insisted that the district’s earlier, leftist management had been characterised by “corruption, amassed debt to the tune of billions of forints, the looting of public assets, paedophilic acts by a Socialist deputy, and infighting verging on murder”.

Németh also said that “not too long ago Karácsony thought that district 21 was a part of northern Budapest” and insisted that the candidate was “completely unknown” to local residents.

Budapest mayor candidate slams government, deputy mayor for alleged business ties with Russian group

karácsony

Gergely Karácsony, opposition candidate for Budapest mayor, on Tuesday demanded that Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky should be stripped of her post of deputy mayor, and quoted press reports suggesting that Szalay-Bobrovniczky’s husband has a joint venture with a Russian group that has supplied metro cars for the city.

According to Karácsony, the reports “explain why the government insisted on the Russian supplier, which tendered a worse and more expensive bid” and why “the city has not followed up on all the technical complaints” against the new trains.

“Budapest residents had to pay 9 billion forints more and put up with carriages without air conditioning just to make (ruling) Fidesz’s oligarchs even richer,” he added.

Karácsony called on Mayor István Tarlós to initiate that the municipal assembly should withdraw Szalay-Bobrovniczky from her post.

Gábor Kerpel-Fronius of the Momentum party said that the opposition, if its parties won the upcoming municipal elections, would ensure that “such public procurement projects are transparent and can be tracked” and that relevant contracts and supplier information are made public.

Hungarian celebrity known for ironing his testicles wants to become mayor of Budapest

Budapest mayor: ‘Bluffing will not fool Budapest voters’ in local election

tarlós Budapest mayor

In the October local elections, bluff, fearmongering and promises of simple solutions will not fool Budapest voters, Budapest Mayor István Tarlós said in an interview published in the Friday edition of the daily Magyar Hírlap.

Tarlós said there was no real unity among the opposition parties vying for the mayoralty.

Any “formal” alliances will dissolve right after the election, he insisted.

The “great allies” have incompatible programmes, with “no logic or principles” behind them, Tarlós said, adding they were motivated by a hunger for power.

Regarding the individual candidates, Tarlós said they all lacked the experience to lead a metropolis.

Gergely Karácsony, mayor of Budapest’s 14th district and the candidate of the Socialists, the Democratic Coalition and Párbeszed parties, tried to become prime minister after three years as a district mayor and is now trying his hand at the local election without having “real insight” into the workings of such a complex system, Tarlós said.

As we wrote yesterday, noise pollution caused by airplanes flying over Budapest in the night will soon be fully eliminated under amendments allowing restrictions in the current legislation, the mayor of the city said.

National minority elections to be held on October 13

Daily News Hungary

The election of national minority self-government representatives will be held on October 13, coinciding with the election of local council representatives and mayors, the National Election Committee (NVB) said on Tuesday.

A total of 2,715 national minority votes will be held around the country, election committee said.

In line with the law, the committee had to decide which minorities in which towns and villages were eligible to hold elections. The date had to coincide with the day of the local council elections and the campaign for the national minority elections will also start on August 24.

All 13 national minorities in Hungary registered by law are entitled to hold elections.

National minority elections can be held in towns and villages where at least 25 people stated during the 2011 census that they belonged to the same national minority. Based on this data, the NVB invited 2,715 national minority elections, including 1,383 for Roma, 547 for Germans, 168 for Romanians, 158 for Slovaks, 136 for Croatians, 63 for Serbs, 53 for Poles, 47 for Ukrainians, 44 for Ruthenians, 37 for Bulgarians, 36 for Greeks, 33 for Armenians and ten for Slovenians.

Based on the number of national minorities registered in each locality, the NVB set the number of members in each national minority self-government.

There will be 15 members in the Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, Ruthenian, Serbian, Slovenian and Ukrainian self-governments, 31 members in the Croatian and Slovak self-governments and 47 in the German and Roma minority self-governments.

 

100,000 activists will be supporting Fidesz’s campaign in autumn local elections

fidesz campaign Kósa

Fidesz local election campaign chief Lajos Kósa has said voters will have the chance to secure development and prosperity by electing local officials allied to the ruling Fidesz and Christian Democrat parties in Hungary’s October 13 local elections.

He said the opposition, by contrast, offered nothing more locally than a “battlefield” on which to wage a war against the ruling parties.

Kósa told a press conference on Tuesday that signatures to stump candidates will be collected in 25 days’ time.

Fidesz expects to nominate 1,200 mayoral candidates in around four-fifths of the country, which means 7.6 million voters will be able to choose Fidesz or government-backed candidates, he said.

Fully 6,000-7,000 local candidates will be competing across the country and there will be more candidates than in 2014. Fidesz, he added, will be running more candidates than any other party.

Fully 100,000 activists will be supporting Fidesz’s campaign from August 23, and Viktor Orbán, the prime minister and Fidesz leader, will also be involved in the party’s nationwide campaign, he said.

Kósa said the aim was to make Hungary one of Europe’s most liveable countries within the foreseeable future and Hungarian towns and villages would accordingly conform to European standards.

Meanwhile, he noted that Fidesz will hold a congress to elect officials in late September.

President sets date of 2019 local elections for October 13

Hungarian celebrity known for ironing his testicles wants to become mayor of Budapest

Krisztián Berki

Ex-football player and Hungarian celebrity Krisztián Berki announced on social media that he is going to run for the mayor’s office of Budapest this fall. The notorious media celebrity and reality show star seems to believe that he is going to become the next mayor of Budapest.

Krisztián Berki seems pretty serious about running for major, Magyar Narancs reports.

Berki shared the news in a video he posted on social media about one week ago. In this video, he says:

“Yes, I am running. Yes, I am going to become the next mayor of Budapest in October. Yes, only I can make Tarlós retire. Yes, I need you too! We are going to do it together! Berki for Budapest!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0GAcZSHEGm/

In the post itself, he writes:

“I am going to become Budapest’s next major in October! I never wanted to become a politician, and it is not my political ambition that made me make this decision now. As a local in Budapest, I know and feel that this city needs change and a good leader. What I see in the opposition leads to nowhere, it is only the struggle of people who never took PE lessons in school. This is not the way to remove István Tarlós. However, it is time for him to retire! … I was never defeated before, and I am not going to start now. “

He encourages his 320,000 Instagram, and 280,000 Facebook followers to support his campaign in becoming the next major of Budapest.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv8XYweBTnJ/

Do not confuse this Berki with well-known Hungarian gymnast, Krisztián Berki. This Krisztián Berki used to be a football player before he became notorious for his careless and often outrageous behaviour. He was the first person to introduce “ball ironing” to the people of Hungary. He had this particular cosmetic procedure for men done, and he was not shy about it. Apart from the ball ironing, he also caused public outrage by causing several accidents, and driving with 300 km/h while recording himself on his phone, Ripost writes.

Berki was already parodied on social media by the mayor of Drávaszerdahely, György Alpár, who made a suspiciously similar video to that of Berki’s. The only difference is that Alpár is kidding, but Berki seems 100% serious.

https://www.facebook.com/agostonmisi/videos/10206550263472217/

 

President sets date of 2019 local elections for October 13

hungarian flag hungary

President János Áder has set the date of Hungary’s 2019 local elections for October 13, a statement published on the website of the Presidential Office on Friday said.

“The strength and stability of our democracy is ensured by the nation’s voters expressing their will freely and responsibly,” the president said.

“Ever since the first free elections held in 1990, all constitutional conditions have been in place for us to decide on our own fate and on the issues affecting our present and future.”

Áder noted that Hungary will organise its eighth municipal elections in the autumn.

He encouraged voters to exercise their rights and cast their ballots in the Oct. 13 election.

Jobbik says potential for local election fraud

Jobbik says potential for local election fraud

An opposition Jobbik lawmaker has raised the suspicion of potential fraud ahead of the autumn local elections in light of the recent purchase of T-Systems, a subsidiary of Hungarian Telecom, by 4iG.

T-Systems had a role in administrating Hungary’s parliamentary and local elections in 2014.

The transaction may pave the way for ballot-rigging, János Bencsik told a press conference on Wednesday.

Telecom and 4iG, which Bencsik called “a relatively small company”, signed the purchase agreement on Tuesday.

Bencsik said Jobbik wants the matter to be considered with urgency by parliament’s national security committee.

Further, Bencsik called on the National Election Office to publish a new IT public procurement tender for the autumn election. Any bidders linked to politicians of the ruling Fidesz party should be excluded from it, he said.

Otherwise, Jobbik will not accept the outcome of the autumn ballot as legitimate, he added.

Jobbik, Momentum, LMP to field joint candidate for Debrecen mayor

The opposition Jobbik, Momentum, and LMP parties will field Ábel Csanád Kőszeghy as their joint candidate for the post of mayor in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, in the upcoming municipal elections, representatives of the three parties announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

Kőszeghy is Jobbik‘s group leader in the municipal assembly of Debrecen.

László Mándi, Momentum’s local leader, commended the candidate based on his municipal experience with special regard to his post as financial committee head.

Kőszeghy said that

the three-party alliance “continues to be open towards other parties and civil organisations”, therefore the list of all candidates would not be published until later.

He added that talks with the Socialist Party and leftist Democratic Coalition have “run aground” and “there is no point” in further negotiations with their local organisations.

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Six opposition parties to field joint candidates in Budapest election

opposition municipal election

The opposition Socialist, Párbeszéd, DK, Jobbik, LMP and Momentum parties have agreed to field joint candidates in all 23 districts of Budapest for the upcoming municipal elections, Gergely Karácsony, Budapest mayor candidate of the Socialist-Párbeszéd alliance, told a press conference on Friday.

Signatories to the agreement will support a single candidate in each district to challenge the nominee of ruling Fidesz, Karácsony said. They have “learnt the lesson that if we are divided Fidesz always wins”, he said, adding that they have “left grievances behind and come together in an effort to make Budapest a freer, fairer and greener city again”.

Voters in the opposition primary have demonstrated that they want to see unity between the opposition parties and their cooperative effort will “meet the desire of voters and reinstate Budapest to its residents,” Karácsony said.

The cooperating parties will need to launch a fitting campaign to mobilise voters, Karácsony said.

“There will be no vacation, no silly season; there will be work, lots of work,” he insisted.

Erzsébet Gy. Németh, municipal representative of the Democratic Coalition (DK), said that “Budapest deserves more than it has had in the past nine years” and expressed support for the cooperation as well as for Karácsony’s candidacy for Budapest mayor.

Momentum board member Miklós Hajnal said that the agreement required “humility and sacrifice” from participants, adding that hopefully their efforts would “result in a team aiming to expose all graft cases”.

Nationalist Jobbik’s Budapest leader János Bencsik said his party supported cooperation because “Jobbik has opted for a multiparty system rather than a single-party regime now being restored.”

He said that the dividing line was not between right and left but between “supporters and servants of autocracy” and “those committed to the rule of law and democracy”.

Green LMP executive Máté Kanász-Nagy said his party had joined the cooperation to facilitate a green programme for the city. It would involve protecting and increasing green areas, resolving issues along the River Danube in northern Budapest, reducing traffic and improving public transport, he said.

Orbán cabinet voices support for new EU leaders 

Talks are ongoing between Hungary and Norway on the distribution of funds to Hungarian civil groups from the Norwegian government under its Norway Grants scheme, but it is uncertain if an agreement will be reached, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday. The new leaders of the European Union’s institutions should be “granted trust in advance”, he said.

Gergely Gulyás said in response to a question that

negotiations between the two countries had been made more difficult by the Norwegian government’s “insistence on supporting the civil organisations of [US billionaire] George Soros”.

Hungary, however, intends to spend the entirety of the grant on schemes aimed at improving the integration of the Roma community, he said.

In response to a question, Gulyás said he had no knowledge of the US president having been asked to mediate in the talks between the two countries.

Family protection action plan

On the topic of the government’s family protection action plan, Gulyás said the scheme’s implementation was going smoothly. Gulyás noted that the first four of the plan’s seven measures entered into effect on Monday.

The measures are attracting a lot of interest, Gulyás said, adding that

the government expects the number of applications for the various support schemes to reach record levels by the end of the month.

Constitutional amendment proposal

Gulyás was also asked about reports by news portal Index saying that the ruling parties were planning to draft a constitutional amendment proposal that would include a ban on adoption by same-sex couples if Budapest Mayor István Tarlós won re-election in the autumn. Gulyás commented on the reports by saying that “Index has gotten started on the election campaign as a member of [Parbeszed candidate] Gergely Karácsony’s team.” The PM’s Office chief said it was “completely absurd” to try to link the planned constitutional amendment with the municipal elections. He said there were no plans to change the rules around adoption, which currently allow adoption by heterosexual couples only.

Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA)

On another subject, Gulyás said he did not think the move to relocate research institutions of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) to a new body with its own, independent budget chapter violated any European Union laws. He added that he did not expect the EU to launch an infringement procedure against Hungary over the amendment.

Gulyás voices support for new EU leaders 

Gergely Gulyás said the Hungarian government and ruling Fidesz had different positions on several issues than some of the candidates, but “the head of the European Commission should act as guardian of the treaties despite those differences”. It is important that “our goals of stopping migration, protecting Christian culture and ensuring respect for a Europe of nations should not be the targets of attacks”, Gulyás said.

Gulyás insisted that the “cooperation and unity of the Visegrad countries has proved to be solid”. He added that

the V4 cooperation was the strongest such initiative within the EU. “Belonging to one region overrides the V4 prime ministers’ different [European] party affiliations,” he added.

Gulyás also said that neither Frans Timmermans nor Manfred Weber had the ability to promote consensus between member states. “In light of recent developments the spitzenkandidat-system has failed,” Gulyás said. He added that Hungary’s voters had supported Fidesz in the European Parliament “not because Weber was the spitzenkandidat of the European People’s Party but rather in spite of it”. He insisted that Weber had “insulted Hungarian voters” when he said he did not wish to be European Commission president if it was up to Fidesz’s support. As for Timmermans, Gulyás said that the focus of his activities was to “attack Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic” and “make the crudest, insinuating remarks on democratically elected leaders”.

Gulyás said he saw a good chance that Ursula von der Leyen, as commission head, would “mediate fairly between member states” and perform well in the role of guardian of the treaties.

“We don’t have a problem if somebody else has different views on migration, unless they want to force their position on us,” Gulyás said. “We just expect tolerance.”

POLL: Budapest Mayor Tarlós maintains lead over opposition candidates for mayor

The majority of Budapest voters expect incumbent Mayor István Tarlós to win the autumn local election, a poll published by the Századvég Foundation on Wednesday showed.

A substantial majority, 68 percent of respondents, said Tarlós would win the race, Századvég said. Fully 13 percent expected Gergely Karácsony, the candidate of the Socialist-Párbeszéd alliance who won the opposition preselection process between June 20 and 25, to win.

His opponents at the preselection process, Democratic Coalition (DK) candidate Olga Kálmán and Momentum Movement’s Gábor Kerpel-Fronius got eight and one percent respectively. Róbert Puzsér, an independent candidate who did not participate in the preselection process, was predicted as winner by 1 percent, the poll showed.

Századvég also measured the candidates’ personal popularity with voters.

Tarlós was favoured by 51 percent of respondents, the poll showed.

Of the opposition candidates in Budapest, 43 percent had a favourable opinion of Kálmán and 38 percent of Karácsony. Puzsér and Kerpel-Fronius was popular with 21 and 20 percent, respectively.

In its poll conducted by phone between June 15 and 18, Századvég asked 1,000 voting age adults on their opinion regarding the possible outcome of the ballot in October.

Karácsony wins opposition preselection for Budapest mayor

Karácsony wins opposition preselection for Budapest mayor

opposition mayor candidate

Gergely Karácsony, the Budapest mayoral candidate of the Socialist-Párbeszéd alliance, has won the preselection process organised by some opposition parties ahead of the autumn local election, György Magyar, head of the committee coordinating the ballot, said in Budapest on Wednesday.

The second round of the preselection process was held between June 20 and 26. Fully 68,240 Budapest residents participated.

Karácsony garnered 33,355 votes.

Fully 25,093 voters supported Olga Kálmán, the leftist Democratic Coalition’s candidate, while 9,792 voted for Momentum’s Gabor Kerpel-Fronius.

At a joint press conference with Kerpel-Fronius and party leaders, Karácsony said the “era of rivalry within the opposition” has ended. They will look forward and work together to change Budapest, he said.

Karácsony said Kálmán and Kerpel-Fronius would have important roles to play in his campaign. Tasks ahead include setting up a campaign team and reaching agreements on candidates in Budapest’s 23 districts, in cooperation with the other parties, he said.

Congratulating Karácsony, Kerpel-Fronius said he would “definitely” defeat incumbent mayor István Tarlós in the October municipal elections.

DK parliamentary group leader Zsolt Greczy said DK accepts the outcome of the preselection and will not field another candidate to challenge Karácsony. He vowed that DK would fight “shoulder to shoulder with the others” to defeat Tarlós.

Socialist leaders Bertalan Tóth called the preselection process a “celebration of democracy”. In order to work changes in Budapest and “restore Budapest residents’ liberty”, opposition parties must refrain from rivalry, he warned.

Tímea Szabó, the co-leader of the Párbeszéd party along with Karácsony, said that hopefully the opposition parties who participated in the preselection process can work as a team with the citizens to “free Budapest from Fidesz captivity”.

Budapest mayor slams opposition preselection in open letter

opposition preselection

The preselection of opposition candidates ahead of the autumn local elections has not been organised according to the rules laid down in election law, incumbent Budapest Mayor István Tarlós has said.

In an open letter published in the daily Magyar Nemzet on Tuesday, Tarlós said it was therefore impossible to monitor voter turnout or the number or distribution of votes.

The second round of the preselection process is being held between June 20 and 26.

The three candidates running are Gergely Karácsony of the Párbeszéd-Socialist alliance, Olga Kálmán of the Democratic Coalition and the Momentum Movement’s Gábor Kerpel-Fronius.

He said that if any cheating came to light, there would be legal consequences since the process did not abide by the relevant law.

Tarlós accused the opposition of “hate-mongering and showing a disregard for facts”.

The incumbent mayor also accused opposition politicians of creating “a false image of Istvan Tarlós’s lack of independence”.

“The problem with that is … that I am not a member of [ruling] Fidesz … and in my thirty-year carrier, I never had a ‘godfather’ or taken orders from anyone. Fidesz has supported me for thirty years, but despite our shared values in important issues … we still have our differences,” he said.

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Budapest mayor Tarlós slams opposition candidates for ‘impossible’ pledges

tarlós mayor budapest

The candidates of the opposition parties for the mayor of Budapest have made campaign pledges that are “impossible to meet”, István Tarlós, the incumbent mayor, told public broadcaster M1 on Monday.

Tarlós insisted that Olga Kálmán, an independent candidate supported by the leftist Democratic Coalition, for example, has set out goals which would cost around 2,000 billion forints (EUR 62bn),

and added that those funds “do not exist” in the city’s budget. He said that if the pledges of Kálmán and Socialist-Párbeszéd’s Gergely Karácsony were “added up” Budapest could “shut down” financially.

Tarlós warned that levying a tax on uninhabited properties or on ones worth over 500 million forints as proposed by Karácsony would be illegal.

Kálmán’s proposal of making public transportation free of charge for juveniles or making it mandatory for district councils to build an annual 100 housing units would also violate laws, Tarlós said.

Concerning the opposition’s preselection of mayoral candidates Tarlós said it was no more than “propaganda and marketing”, a procedure which has “no legal consequences” and in which there is “no real debate” between the contenders.

POLL – No opposition candidate could defeat incumbent Budapest mayor