referendum

Hungarian election body rejects opposition plebiscite bids

Daily News Hungary

The National Election Committee (NVB) on Thursday rejected referendum bids submitted by two opposition parties on university tuition and scrapping health-care privileges for top government officials.

Last month,

the Párbeszéd party submitted referendum questions on ensuring that state university tuition in Hungary remains in the public sector and is free of charge.

The NVB rejected the bid, arguing the questions failed to define the term tuition and were otherwise too vague. Also, the budget law would have to be changed, it said.

The questions related to scrapping health-care privileges for senior government officials were submitted by the Socialists.

The body argued that the questions concerned personal matters that are defined by parliamentary powers and rejected the initiative for otherwise being ambiguous.

The two parties have 15 days to appeal NVB’s decisions at the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court. The parties vowed to appeal the committee’s decision.

As we wrote on August, the National Election Committee (NVB) on Tuesday elected Péter Rádi as its new chair after András Patyi resigned the position, read more HERE.

Leftist opposition party launches referendum bid on free university tuition

corvinus University

The opposition Párbeszéd party is submitting a referendum initiative with a view to ensuring that university tuition in Hungary is free of charge, party board member Gábor Erőss told a press conference in front of the National Election Office building in Budapest on Friday.

Currently, students are required to pay a tuition fee unless they qualify for a state grant.

The party will submit the question:

“Do you agree that students of state-funded higher education courses should not pay for tuition?”

Erőss said that ruling Fidesz wants to “privatise” Budapest’s Corvinus University, to be followed by “all other institutions”, further restricting access to higher education in an “already very unfair system”.

On the surface the government is enhancing their autonomy while actually “putting public funds into the hands of Fidesz oligarchs”, he said.

Lawmaker Bence Tordai said that

the party’s proposal for a universal basic income would benefit university students, who would receive 3.6 million forints (EUR 11,000) over 5 years.

CORVINUS UNIVERSITY TO HAVE 4 MILLION TUITION FEE AND MORE FOREIGN STUDENTS

With 4 million forints of tuition fee per semester, Corvinus University of Budapest can easily become the University of rich people. From 2020, state-sponsored semesters will no longer be available, and everyone who would like to study at the university will have to pay, read more HERE.

Photo: Daily News Hungary – Alpár Kató

Local council submits petition concerning noise near Budapest airport

budapest airport-lufthansa-bud.hu

Representatives of a local council located near Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc Airport have submitted a petition to the aviation control service asking for changes to a new air traffic control system which they say has negatively affected local residents.

The petition accompanied by signatures of residents from the Budapest‘s Pestszentlőrinc-Pestszentimre district was submitted on Thursday to HungaroControl Hungarian Aviation Service, asking it to withdraw the changes that had affected locals due to noise and pollution from air traffic.

HungaroControl amended its standard instrument departure (SID) routes on August 16 as a result of which departing aircraft do not turn after leaving runway 13 and consequently fly above residential areas.

In the petition, the council is asking the company to start consultations with locals’ representatives in order to develop a new SID that would satisfy all sides concerned.

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Socialists submit referendum bids for ‘protection of public funds’

Socialists MSZP Hungary

The opposition Socialist Party today submitted two referendum bids “for the protection of public funds” to the National Election Committee (NVB).

The Socialists want parliament to oblige the government to join the European public prosecutor’s office and to have government spending on communications distributed on the basis of readership and viewing figures, Bertalan Tóth, the party’s chairman and group leader, told a press conference.

Tóth justified the bid on joining the European prosecutor’s office saying that the Hungarian chief public prosecutor’s office had failed to investigate cases surrounding “[ruling] Fidesz oligarchs” and what he called Fidesz’s mishandling of public funds.

Tamás Harangozó, the party’s deputy group leader, said it was in the interest of all Hungarian taxpayers to know that they were the ones losing out on European Union funds that were not being spent the way they were intended, but “end up going to Fidesz oligarchs, relatives and friends”. Joining the European public prosecutor’s office would serve as a guarantee to Hungarian taxpayers that “those who steal public funds will be held to account”, he said.

Harangozo said the party was aware that the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court, has rejected multiple referendum bids on this issue, but expressed hope that recent changes in the legal environment would entice the top court to “side with the Hungarian people”.

Gergely Örsi, the deputy head of the Socialist Party’s Budapest chapter, said that

the other referendum bid seeks to prohibit state-owned companies and the government from running advertisements during general, local and European parliamentary election campaigns.

He argued that during Hungary’s general election campaign earlier this year, the government “spent billions on an ad campaign that that was practically identical to Fidesz’s campaign”. The Socialists want money for government information campaigns to be distributed more evenly, in a way that reflects how many viewers and readers the various media outlets attract, he said.

In response to a question, Harangozó said the party expects the NVB to reject their bid concerning the European prosecutor’s office and that they expect the Kúria to have the final say. He said they expect the signature drive for the referendum to coincide with next year’s European parliamentary election campaign.

Photo: MTI

NVB throws out two referendum initiatives

Daily News Hungary

The National Election Committee (NVB) on Thursday rejected two referendum initiatives, one on making the enforcement of two-thirds laws contingent on the approval of voters in a national referendum. The other concerned legalising cannabis consumption.

The NVB unanimously rejected the first initiative submitted by a private individual on the ground that a successful referendum would entail a constitutional amendment, but the rules on holding referendums forbid this.

It was also united in rejecting the Liberal Party‘s other initiative to decriminalise consumption of marijuana, saying “ownership, purchase, production or any abuse of drugs for personal consumption” are criminal activities under international agreements and Hungary would have to break those accords. This would violate domestic laws.

Appeals of NVH rulings can be made to the Supreme Court within 15 days.

Also on Thursday, the NVB approved a report verifying supporting signatures for a voter initiative seeking the recognition of the Szekler people as an ethnic group independent of the Hungarian nation. The initiative was supported by a total of 1,022 people.

In its official opinion on the bid,

the Hungarian Academy of Sciences said the Szekler people could not be considered an independent ethnic group.

The decision on their recognition as an independent ethnic group will be left up to the Hungarian parliament.

Socialists propose referendums for ‘protection of public funds’

Socialists MSZP Hungary

The opposition Socialists will propose two referendums “for the protection of public funds” in the coming days, the party’s head and group leader said on Friday.

The Socialists want parliament to oblige the government to join the European public prosecutor’s office and to have government spending on communications distributed on the basis of readership and viewing figures, Bertalan Toth said citing a decision made by the party board on Thursday.

Ruling Fidesz has demonstrated “an aversion to” joining the European public prosecutor’s office, he said. Public monies are “getting lost everywhere” and no matter how many times this is reported, the Hungarian prosecutor’s office refuses to take action, he added.

The government spends tens of billions of forints on communications and the benefits are only “enjoyed by the friends of Fidesz”, he said.

The Socialists want this money to be distributed more evenly, in a way that reflects how many viewers and readers the media outlets attract.

Local referendum on ‘Budapest party district’ opening hours not valid

party district Budapest 7th district

A local referendum on the closing hours of pubs and other venues in a central Budapest district was not valid after only 15.89 percent of eligible voters went to the polls, the 7th district local council said late on Sunday.

As we wrote before, District VII Council Assembly set the referendum about the opening hours of clubs for 18 February. The poll concerns the so-called party quarter of Budapest, the area of Erzsébetváros, surrounded by Erzsébet Boulevard, Király Street, Károly Boulevard and Rákóczi Road. If people vote yes, bars and nightclubs will have to be closed from midnight to 6 a.m.

A total of 6,918 votes were cast, including 4,572 supporting a proposal that pubs and clubs in the “party district” covering Károly körút to Erzsébet körút should be closed between midnight and 6am. Altogether 2,316 voted against the proposal and 30 votes were invalid.

The district has 43,520 eligible voters and the local referendum would have been valid if at least 50 percent had cast a valid vote.

The noise of party-goers and the extended opening hours have been subject to a long-standing dispute between residents, apartment leasers and club owners.

The local council said that regardless of the outcome of the referendum, they will attempt to resolve the problems caused by clubs and tourists and financial resources will be boosted to ensure peace and calm for locals.

Photo: MTI

Budapest mayor: city council has solution for metro 3 wheelchair accessibility

The metropolitan council will ensure the wheelchair accessibility of Budapest’s third metro line, which is in the course of being refurbished, by fixing “cabin structures” onto the escalators in the metro stations where the use of elevators is not an option, Budapest Mayor István Tarlós said on Tuesday.

Speaking to commercial broadcaster InfoRádió, Tarlós said similar structures are in use in cities like Berlin, Dublin, London, Naples and Paris. The mayor stressed that the structures would be safe to use.

He said the cabins could be installed at 20-25 percent of the cost of elevators. There are seven companies that manufacture such systems in Europe, Tarlós added.

The metropolitan council is considering installing such cabin structures at five stations, he said.

Last week, Hungary’s supreme court, the Kúria, approved holding a referendum on wheelchair accessibility for the metro line.

Tarlós repeated his position that the plebiscite was pointless, arguing that even if it were successful, it would not oblige the metropolitan council to build an elevator at every station.

Top court allows metro line 3 accessibility

The Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court, has upheld the Budapest Election Committee’s (FVB) decision to allow a referendum to go ahead on wheelchair accessibility to metro line 3, which is in the course of being refurbished.

In the legally binding ruling, the Kuria wrote on its website on Tuesday that

the referendum question lived up to the requirement for legal clarity and comprehensibility by the electorate.

Socialist Budapest Assembly member Csaba Horváth submitted the referendum bid in December. The question reads: “Do you support ensuring the full accessibility of all stations of the M3 metro line during its upgrade in 2017-2020 according to the provisions prescribed in Section 2 (1) of Act LXXVIII of 1997?”

Back then, Budapest deputy mayor Gábor Bagdy said in a statement that Horváth had submitted a “hastily-worded” referendum question, arguing that the upgrade of the metro line was in line with the provisions prescribed by law. Therefore the objective of the question he had submitted could be carried out even without a referendum, the deputy mayor said.

Ruling Fidesz reacted by saying that the opposition’s referendum initiative “has no credibility whatsoever”.

The mayor of Budapest reacted as well in December, stressing that he was not blocking a referendum, because Act LXXVIII of 1997 on the Formation and Protection of the Built Environment does not specify that elevators need to be built in order to ensure accessibility. Even if the referendum is valid and successful, it would still not mandate the construction of elevators, the mayor said. There is more than one technical solution for carrying out the metro upgrade so that it is in line with the 1998 law on equality and the rights of people with disabilities, he added.

DK launches signature drive to scrap Ukrainians’ eligibility for Hungary pension

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) is launching a signature drive to scrap the eligibility for Hungarian pension of those Ukrainian and Russian citizens who have registered in Hungarian border villages with the sole purpose of taking advantage of this interstate agreement.

The signature drive was announced by DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány at a season opening meeting of the party’s national board on Friday.

DK’s question seeking endorsement from the general public reads:

“Do you agree that Russian and Ukrainian citizens who have never paid pension contributions in Hungary should be ineligible for Hungarian pension?”

Gyurcsány said that 200,000-300,000 forint (EUR 650-970) pensions were not uncommon among the roughly 10,000 Ukrainians who were eligible for Hungarian pension. It is enough for those who want high pensions to present a proof of academic attainment and documentation confirming prior employment status in Ukraine, he said.

Ferenc Gyurcsány - democratic coalition
Photo: MTI

Gyurcsány said he had found a run-down building in one of the villages that was the registered address of 202 people. He said some village residents are said to be taking in Ukrainian citizens for money, while others suggested that it was the local mayor’s way of “buying enough votes to never have to fear another challenger”.

Gyurcsány accused the government of pursuing “pension imports” to serve its own political interests.

Photo: MTI

Socialists demand proof for existence of ‘Soros Plan’

soros plan hungary

The Socialist head of parliament’s national security committee has called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to appear before the body and present evidence that there is a “Soros Plan” the government has been referring to.

Zsolt Molnár told a press conference on Thursday that unless Orbán can prove the existence of such a scheme which the government has linked to US billionaire George Soros, the ruling parties should stay away from the upcoming parliamentary election because “they have been feeding obvious lies to the Hungarian public”.

Molnár insisted that a “Soros Plan” did not exist but was “invented by (ruling) Fidesz’s PR machinery to mislead the people and divert attention from the actual state of the country”.

The Socialist politician added that other opposition members of the committee, delegated by green LMP and radical nationalist Jobbik, also agreed with his proposal to hear the prime minister on the subject.

Fidesz group leader Gergely Gulyás told a press conference on a different subject that Orbán would not appear before the committee, and added that the body “does not need to pursue a political witch hunt”.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/MagyarországKormánya

State Audit Office scheduled to audit parties, tax office, treasury in first half of 2018

Daily News Hungary economy

The State Audit Office (ASZ) has submitted to parliament its schedule of audits of Hungary’s political parties, party and other foundations, the tax office and the state treasury to be performed in the first half of 2018, ASZ said on Friday.

In its audit of the National Tax and Customs Office (NAV), ASZ will examine several of the office’s activities, including those pertaining to the corporate tax, according to the schedule.

When ASZ audits the state treasury, it will look into the treasury’s handling of grants paid out to entities outside the general government.

ASZ will also look into the accounting of financial assets used in organising Hungary’s referendum on migrant quotas held on October 2 last year as well as the use of funds spent on by-elections.

The audit office is also scheduled to begin looking into the finances of Hungary’s emergency care system.

It will also audit the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) and state-owned energy company MVM.

ASZ said it would also assess the draft of the 2019 budget if it is completed in the first half of next year.

Referendum question on the accessibility of metro 3 ‘imprecise, pointless’?

The referendum question submitted by the opposition in connection with ensuring accessibility of metro line 3 is “imprecise and pointless”, Budapest Mayor István Tarlós said on Thursday.

Earlier this month, the Budapest Election Committee approved a referendum question submitted by Socialist city councillor Csaba Horváth on ensuring wheelchair accessibility of stations on Budapest’s third metro line during its upgrade phase.

The referendum question refers to a law enacted in 1997 which was also in force in 2007, when the upgrade of the second metro line was completed, Tarlós told public news channel M1. This referendum was initiated by a politician who was part of the municipal council leadership at that time when only a single elevator was built on the second metro line and only a single station was made fully accessible, Tarlós said, referring to Horváth and the previous city leadership.

Metro line 3 “is in terrible condition” and for decades nobody did anything about it, the mayor said.

Even the city council could not do anything about it until 2015 when the government took over the debt that had been accumulated by Budapest transport company BKV up until 2010, he added.

This issue is not about a lack of intent from the city council’s part, Tarlós insisted, adding that the Budapest leadership had “fought for a long time” for the metro upgrade and the project costs a lot of money.

The mayor said he and the city council leadership will look into whether an elevator could be built at the Dózsa György Road station, which would cost close to 1 billion forints (EUR 3.2m).

On Wednesday, Horváth announced that nine opposition parties had joined forces to launch a signature drive for holding a local referendum on ensuring the accessibility of metro line 3.

Horváth’s referendum question reads: “Do you support ensuring the full accessibility of all stations of the M3 metro line during its upgrade in 2017-2020 in line with the provisions prescribed in Section 2 (1) of Act LXXVIII of 1997?”

Tarlós stressed that he was not blocking a referendum, because Act LXXVIII of 1997 on the Formation and Protection of the Built Environment does not specify that elevators need to be built in order to ensure accessibility. Even if the referendum is valid and successful, it would still not mandate the construction of elevators, the mayor said. There is more than one technical solution for carrying out the metro upgrade so that it is in line with the 1998 law on equality and the rights of people with disabilities, he added.

Referendum bid on declaring December 24 a public holiday fails

The National Election Committee (NVB) rejected the referendum initiatives on declaring December 24 a public holiday and setting a salary cap for state company managers, at its meeting on Friday.

Both initiatives have failed as the number of signatures collected falls short of the required limit, NVB head Ilona Pálffy said.

Zoltán Bíró, the private individual who initiated the referendum on December 24, has collected 70,722 signatures, she said.

Former opposition LMP lawmaker Gábor Vágó, who initiated the referendum on a salary cap for state company managers, has collected 46,875 signatures, Pálffy said.

Under the relevant law, parliament is obliged to call a referendum if at least 200,000 signatures have been collected and has the option of doing so if at least 100,000 signatures have been collected.

Further, the NVB has rejected five proposed referendum questions, including the Democratic Party’s initiative to revoke the voting rights of ethnic Hungarians beyond the borders in Hungary’s general elections. The committee argued that the referendum would concern a matter regulated by Hungary’s basic law, whose amendment cannot be the subject of any referendum. Pálffy added that the question submitted was ambiguous.

Further, the NVB rejected a referendum initiative by the Hungarian Liberal Party with three questions concerning the legalisation of cannabis, citing conflict with international treaties, ambiguity and the scope of parliament’s authority.

The committee also rejected a proposed referendum by the “Movement for Satisfied Hungary” for reintroducing the trade unions’ veto rights. It argued that the submitted question did not exactly specify which provisions of Hungary’s former labour code should be restored.

Signature drive fails: December 24 will not be public holiday

The signature drive for a referendum on making December 24 a public holiday has failed as merely 66,500 signatures were submitted to the National Election Office on Tuesday, Zoltán Bíró, the private individual who launched the initiative, told MTI.

For a referendum to be called by parliament, at least 200,000 signatures should have been collected from August 1 to November 28.

Bíró said he still hoped parliament would take it into consideration that a recent public survey showed 96 percent of Hungarians would like December 24 to be a public holiday.

Bíró attributed the relative failure of the signature drive to the legislative environment which he said discourages organisations from participating in the collection of signatures by imposing a fine on lost signature-collection forms.

featured image: http://budapestinfo.hu/

Opposition aims for similar result to anti-Olympic campaign in referendum signature drive

Daily News Hungary

Hungary’s left-wing and liberal opposition parties have joined together to collect signatures for a referendum campaign that they hope will have a similar impact to the one that forced the government to back down on Hungary’s bid to hold the Olympic Games.

This time round, the issue is an environmental one and concerns a planned mobile levee along the banks of the Danube to the north of Budapest. Building the levee at the proposed site would mean cutting down a large number of established trees, and the Együtt and Párbeszed (Dialogue) initiatives backed by the Socialists, Democratic Coalition, Liberal Party, Momentum and the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog party support an alternate plan further inland.

Együtt leader Péter Juhász said altogether 138,000 signatures must be collected in the timespan of 30 days for the plebiscite initiative to be valid.

“The opposition collaboration will succeed, and just as there will be no Olympics in Budapest, neither will there be a mobile levee on the Római banks of the Danube,” he said.

Tímea Szabó, co-leader of Párbeszéd, said cooperation by the various opposition forces and civil groups involved had been “unprecedented”. “People have understood that the issue of the Római mobile levee is not about cutting down a few trees but about not letting the Orbán government wreak destruction.”

As we wrote few weeks ago, the small opposition Együtt and Dialogue parties are preparing to run a joint campaign for 2018 general election.

LMP initiates referendum on ‘Paks 3’ plan

paks

Green opposition LMP on Friday said it has submitted referendum bids in connection with the planned addition of further new blocks to Hungary’s sole nuclear power plant in Paks. 

Last week, János Süli, minister without portfolio in charge of the upgrade of the Paks plant, suggested that further blocks should be added to the planned two new blocks to meet Hungary’s increased future energy demands. Suli argued that the country’s power demand could reach 5,000 megawatts by 2030.

Only the Hungarian people have a right to decide on the use of nuclear energy in Hungary,

LMP board member Péter Ungár said in a statement.

He said the National Election Committee (NVB) would have no choice but to approve LMP’s referendum questions, since they do not concern international agreements.

The NVB has repeatedly said that

the Paks 2 project is ineligible for a referendum as it is governed by an international accord.

Ungár said Süli recently “admitted” that the upgrade of the Paks plant would begin a year later than originally planned. He insisted that this proved that the government was unfit to carry out or even prepare the project.

Hungary signed an agreement with Russia on the construction of two blocks at the Paks nuclear power plant in 2014.

As we wrote on Wednesday, projections show that there will be a shortage of energy capacity in Hungary in 2030 after the current Paks nuclear power station expansion project is completed, so further development plans are needed, János Süli, the minister in charge of the upgrade project, told a hearing in parliament’s national security committee on Wednesday.

Election Committee rejects referendum on chief prosecutor

Daily News Hungary

The National Election Committee (NVB) on Thursday rejected referendum initiatives concerning Hungary’s chief prosecutor. 

The body said that the questions submitted would have “affected parliament’s powers over organisations and their personnel” which cannot be subject to a referendum.

The initiatives were submitted by the Momentum Movement and former MP Gábor Vágó.

Three of the rejected referendum questions were proposed by Momentum, aimed at annulling provisions under which the chief prosecutor, after his term expires, can retain his powers until his successor is elected.

The committee rejected four further questions submitted by Vágó. The first one sought to eliminate the immunity of an MP if they abused their voting rights to promote graft.

Vágó’s second question was aimed at preventing re-election of the chief prosecutor for a second term, while the third one suggested that the chief prosecutor could be withdrawn from his office.

Vágó’s fourth question suggested that family members of the chief prosecutor should be prevented from being employed by the National Bank.