referendum

Top court rejects appeals against migrant quota referendum

Budapest, June 21 (MTI) – Following a Constitutional Court ruling rejecting several appeals against the government-backed referendum against the European Union’s mandatory migrant quota system, the popular vote on the quotas will go ahead, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Earlier today the court rejected four appeals against plans to hold the referendum.

Left-wing politicians attacked the government’s plans to put the issue to a popular vote but no obstacles remain, Bence Tuzson, state secretary for government communications, told a press conference. According to the legal timetable, the referendum is most likely to be held in September or October. The government asks Hungarians to say no to EU quotas, he added.

The Jobbik party said the referendum was purely aimed at political gains for ruling Fidesz. Jobbik MP Ádám Mirkóczki said that the ruling parties were working to “promote migration for campaign purposes” rather than to stem the process.

Mirkóczki said in a statement that though his party had supported the referendum, Jobbik thought that thwarting the quota system through a constitutional amendment would have been more effective because “it does not cost any money and its outcome is more certain”.

Mirkóczki insisted that the funds to finance the referendum was “money down the drain”, which could have been used instead to set up a proper border guard.

Photo: MTI

Hungary government campaigning against Brexit

Budapest, June 19 (MTI) – The Hungarian government will place an advertisement in the British press on Monday to encourage UK voters to support their country remaining a member of the European Union in the upcoming referendum on the subject, the Hungarian government spokesman confirmed press reports on Sunday.

Zoltán Kovács told MTI that a strong Europe required cooperation between its largest members, therefore Britain’s membership was crucial.

The advertisement, signed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, will read: “The decision is yours, but I would like you to know that Hungary is proud to stand with you as a member of the European Union”.

The British referendum is set for next Thursday.

Photo: Zsolt Burger

Election Cttee repeatedly turns down Liberals’ complaint over quota referendum

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, June 17 (MTI) – The National Election Committee has repeatedly turned down a complaint filed by the Liberal Party over the government’s campaign ahead of a planned national referendum concerning European migrant quotas.

According to the Liberals, the government’s “information campaign” is aimed at influencing voters so that they vote against the European quota system. Hungarian rules prohibit conducting such campaigns earlier than 50 days before the actual referendum, the party said, noting that the date of the quota referendum has not been set yet. The Liberal Party, therefore, turned to the election committee with the aim that it should call on the government to stop its campaign.

The committee said in response in a statement that the complaint “does not fall within its scope”. They argued that since there was no referendum date, the campaign had not started and therefore the “subject of the complaint does not qualify as a referendum matter”.

Andras Patyi, the head of the committee, who signed the statement, said that the government’s communication “could be seen as an information campaign” because “the posters do not indicate a date for the referendum”.

The government is bent on maintaining a public focus on the referendum and on the possibility that it could be held before the end of 2016, and “it is not forbidden by any legislation,” the statement said.

The committee a week ago turned down the Liberals’ complaint for the first time on grounds that it had been submitted by the director of the party, whereas the official registry indicates the chairman as the party’s legal representative.

Election cttee throws out referendum initiatives

Budapest, June 9 (MTI) – The National Election Committee (NVB) on Thursday threw out three referendum initiatives submitted by the same person concerning the release of information on public funds and rules governing fraud or embezzlement involving public assets.

The first referendum question sought to ensure full public access to all agreements concerning the state budget, European Union funding for Hungary as well as publicly owned assets.

The committee ruled that if all agreements were to be published, personal information contained therein should be published, too. Personal data, however, are protected under the constitution, and a constitutional amendment would be necessary. But a referendum cannot be held on the constitution.

The second question similarly sought the release of documents concerning the privatisation or lease of state-owned assets, and a ban on classifying related information. The body again cited the protection of personal information and turned down the initiative.

Through the third question, the proponent sought to change the penal code so that budget fraud, embezzlement or abuse concerning national assets or public funds should never become obsolete and continue to be punishable without statute of limitation.

András Patyi, the committee’s head, cited an error in the question, which referred to the act on national assets rather than to the penal code. He also said the question was misleading because “it suggests that not only public funds can be involved in budget fraud” and was therefore discriminatory, because it made an “unjustified” distinction between fraud or embezzlement involving private and public funds.

Decisions of the NVB can be appealed within 15 days.

Election cttee rejects Liberal plea on popular vote

The National Election Committee on Thursday rejected a plea lodged by the Liberal Party to outlaw the government’s referendum campaign on European Union mandatory migrant quotas.

The Liberals argued that the government’s campaign material is not informative but seeks to influence voters to reject the quota plan. At the same time, the rules state that a campaign can only be mounted fifty days before the date for the popular vote, and since a date has not yet been set the current campaign is illegal, the Liberals said.

Photo: MTI

Liberals submit objection to election cttee over referendum campaign

Budapest, June 7 (MTI) – The Hungarian Liberal Party has submitted an objection to the National Election Committee (NVB), arguing that the government campaign in support of its referendum seeking to block approval of the European Union’s mandatory migrant quota plan is illegal.

Liberal politician Ádám Sermer told a news conference on Tuesday that the government’s campaign material is not informative but seeks to influence voters to reject the quota plan. At the same time, the rules state that a campaign can only be mounted fifty days before the date for the popular vote, and since a date has not yet been set the current campaign is illegal, he insisted.

The Liberals have called on the NVB to instruct the government to withdraw its illegal campaign.

In its response, ruling Fidesz referred to “pro-immigration” parties and insisted that those forces sought to “prevent voters from being informed” about the referendum.

Hungary’s Left “wants to settle immigrants” in the country, that is why they seek to thwart the referendum, Fidesz said in its statement.

The campaign is necessary because “Hungarian people need to know that it is up to them, rather than to Brussels, to decide with whom they want to live together with”, authors of the document argued. “All those that want to hush up the referendum will serve the interests of Brussels and of the pro-immigration forces,” the statement added.

On Monday, the Liberal Party demanded that the government should disclose how much it has spent on its campaign and what resources it has used to cover the costs.

Appeal submitted to top court against migrant quota referendum

Budapest, May 24 (MTI) – An appeal has been submitted to the Constitutional Court against parliament’s decision to hold a referendum in Hungary on the European Union’s mandatory migrant quota.

The top court said on its website on Tuesday that the anonymised appeal would be assessed in a priority procedure. Under the law, the court has 30 days to make a ruling.

The court’s general secretary Botond Bitskey said the appeal was submitted by a private individual. The President’s Office and the National Election Committee have been informed about the appeal, he added.

In the referendum, passed by parliament on May 10, voters would be asked: “Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of the National Assembly?”

According to the appeal, it is not in parliament’s power to pass such a decision, since the referendum question has an impact on EU common policy. The author of the document added that the referendum bill should have been discussed in parliament’s EU committee, which did not happen.

The president will not set a date for the referendum before the procedure is completed. Should the top court reject the appeal, the president will announce the date within 15 days of the court’s decision, setting it between 70 and 90 days from the decision.

Photo: MTI

Socialists abandon signature drive for Sunday shopping referendum

Budapest, May 19 (MTI) – The Socialist Party has stopped collecting supporting signatures for a referendum on scrapping the already-repealed law on Sunday shopping restrictions, lawmaker Zoltán Gőgös told the Thursday edition of daily Magyar Idők.

The signature drive was abandoned two-three weeks ago, Gőgös said. He said the party had made the decision to end the campaign because “it can now see guarantees” that the government will not reintroduce the law.

He revealed that the Constitutional Court has also thrown out the party’s referendum initiative.

After parliament scrapped the law in mid-April, the Socialists continued collecting signatures for the referendum they had initiated against Sunday shopping restrictions because they believed there was a chance that the government could bring it back in the future.

Gőgös told Magyar Idők that the reason why his party had pushed for a referendum to ensure that the shopping law could not be restored for a period of three years was because government office chief János Lázár and Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén had been “unclear” about whether or not the government intended to bring it back.

He said his party would continue collecting signatures for the referendums concerning the government’s state-owned land privatisation programme and the introduction of a 2 million forint (EUR 6,300) cap on public officials’ salaries. So far, they have collected 150,000 signatures for each question, he said.

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Government weekly brieefing about migrant quota fine, Hungarian bus making and stud farms – UPDATE

Budapest, May 12 (MTI) – The European Commission’s plans to introduce mandatory migrant quotas and the 250,000 euro levy member states would have to pay for each migrant they reject violate the European Union’s founding treaties, the government office chief said on Thursday.

Government: Migrant quotas, ‘fine’ go against EU’s founding treaties

János Lázár told a regular government news conference that the EC’s plans also go against the will of the European people and fail to accurately represent the political will of a large portion of the bloc’s member states. The EC cannot force these measures onto member states that reject it, he said.

Lázár called the government’s planned referendum on migrant quotas one of the most important issues of the last 25 years. He noted that the referendum — which parliament endorsed earlier this week — will likely be held in September or early October.

Ban certain tobacco products and introduce uniform packaging

On another subject, Lázár said the government decided to ban certain tobacco products and introduce uniform packaging, possibly still this year. Earlier Lázár said the move was in line with a recent European Court ruling. The ban will apply to menthol and capsule cigarettes.

The strategy for Hungarian bus making

Lázár praised the strategy for Hungarian bus making introduced by the government on Wednesday. He said the strategy will aim to cooperate with local councils, Budapest district councils and state-owned companies on public transport projects in order to strengthen the national industry.

New stud farm law?

The government will draw up a separate law for the regulation of the Mezőhegyes model stud farm, Lázár said. The project will strengthen traditions, plant and animal breeding and seed propagation research.

UPDATE

Government to reorganise public school system

The government has devised a plan to reorganise the “currently inadequate” public school system to ensure that students are given a competitive education, Lazar said.

The government will establish a so-called “Klebelsberg education centre” that will oversee 57 school district centres, Lázár told a weekly news conference. These school district centres will be responsible for managing public schools and will be free to manage their own finances.

Headmasters will exercise employer authority and will be partially responsible for their schools’ finances, he said.

Photo: MTI

Parliament approves national referendum on EU migrant quotas, lawmakers amends referendum law – UPDATE

Budapest, May 10 (MTI) – Parliament on Tuesday approved calling a national referendum initiated by the government on the EU’s mandatory migrant quota scheme. Lawmakers also approved an amendment to Hungary’s referendum law that will allow multiple initiatives on the same subject to be presented to the national election office (NVI).

The initiative was approved with 136 votes cast in favour by lawmakers of the ruling Fidesz and Christian Democratic parties, and the opposition Jobbik. Five independent lawmakers voted against.

In the vote, lawmakers also approved allocating a maximum amount of 4.9 billion forints (EUR 15.5m) for the national ballot.

Appeals against parliament’s decision can be submitted to the Constitutional Court within 15 days, and the court has 30 days to make a ruling.

The referendum is then to be called by Hungary’s president within 15 days, and held on Sunday during the period between the 70th and 90th consecutive days.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Feb. 24 that the government would initiate a national referendum on the migrant quota. The reason given by the government was that only Hungarians and not Brussels can decide who they want to live together with in their own country.

In the referendum Hungarian citizens will be asked: “Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of the National Assembly?”

The question was submitted on behalf of the government by cabinet office chief Antal Rogan and the election committee approved it late February.

Four appeals were submitted which the Kuria, Hungary’s supreme court, rejected in early May.

Rogan last week said the referendum could most likely be held in September or in the first week of October.

Parliament amends referendum law

All petitioners can therefore start collecting the 200,000 signatures needed for a referendum to be called, irrespective of any overlaps in their questions. Once the national election committee (NVB) has certified the 200,000 signatures supporting a referendum initiative, rival signature collection campaigns have to be wound up and further questions on a given subject are no longer allowed to be submitted.

Under the amendment, the government or the president cannot initiate referendums on subjects for which signatures are already being collected.

The new rules were originally proposed by the NVB and the NVI.

The amendment was passed with 115 votes in favour, 27 against and 30 abstentions.

UPDATE

Leftist opposition lambast parlt approval of migrant quota referendum

The Socialist Party said it went against common sense for parliament not to approve their proposal to hold the migrant quota referendum on the same day as their two referendums. The Socialists’ referendums concern the government’s state-owned land privatisation programme and the introduction of a 2 million forint (EUR 6,300) cap on public officials’ salaries.

Lawmaker Gergely Bárándy said that the ruling Fidesz party would have had ample time to wait for the National Election Office to certify the signatures the Socialists had collected in support of their referendum initiatives, after which parliament could have voted on the three referendum proposals at the same time.

Bárándy said his party would continue its “anti-Fidesz” signature drive.

The Democratic Coalition and Együtt parties said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would use the referendum to try to “win a mandate to drive Hungary out of the European Union”. Both parties said they would stay away from the vote and would call on their supporters to follow suit.

Fidesz

Fidesz called on the leftist parties not to appeal to the Constitutional Court over the referendum. Janos Halasz, a spokesman for the Fidesz parliamentary group, called the referendum “one of the most important matters” in Hungarian history. He stressed that the Hungarian people should be left to decide if they want Brussels to resettle migrants in Hungary. Halasz said the referendum was “urgent” because Brussels is putting forward “increasingly aggressive plans” to redistribute migrants among EU member states. He said it was “lamentable” that certain MPs had “openly expressed support” for the migrant quota scheme by voting against the referendum.

Jobbik

Jobbik said Fidesz is always one step behind when it comes to the issue of migrant quotas. Party leader Gábor Vona told a press conference that a constitutional amendment is needed instead.

A referendum would have been timely in 2015 when Jobbik originally proposed it, but by now it won’t be enough. Amending the constitution could be done quickly, without having to wait until the autumn, he added. “Time isn’t on our side, with the European Commission working on new absurd proposals,” Vona said. Even if Hungarians reject the quota, if the referendum is not valid and successful, it could be counter-productive, he added.

Photo: MTI

Socialists submit referendum draft resolution to parliament

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, May 9 (MTI) – The opposition Socialist Party on Monday submitted a draft resolution to parliament, which if passed, would ensure that the two referendums sponsored by the party are held on the same day as the government-initiated referendum on mandatory migrant quotas.

Deputy leader Zoltán Gőgös presented to the media the 125,000 signatures the party has collected so far in support of each of its two referendum initiatives. The Socialists have to collect a total of 200,000 signatures in support of each initiative in order for a referendum to be called on them.

Their referendum initiatives concern the government’s state-owned land privatisation programme and the introduction of a 2 million forint (EUR 6,300) cap on public officials’ salaries.

Gőgös said his party will hold off on submitting the signatures to the National Election Office until ruling Fidesz guarantees that it will support their resolution.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party said it will file a complaint to the Constitutional Court asking it to axe an earlier ruling by the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court, which allows the EU quota referendum to go ahead. Gábor Fodor, the party’s leader, said on Monday that the government-initiated referendum could be registered as early as today and a decision made on Tuesday. Fodor said the question of the referendum had not been debated in sufficient depth and he insisted that Fidesz was using the planned popular vote as a means to pave the way for Hungary to leave the European Union.

Ruling Fidesz group leader Lajos Kósa called the Socialist proposal a “political bluff”. The initiative, he said, indicates “total incomprehension” of the law. He added that it was an “open and deliberate” incitement to a violation of laws.

The two referendums cannot be held at the same time due to relevant deadlines defined by law, while “the Socialists are in a despair to mix up the referendum questions; their pro-immigration position has obviously become uncomfortable”, Kósa said.

Hungarian foreign minister: Hungarians should be free to decide own fate

Budapest, May 8 (MTI) – Hungary’s government initiated a referendum on the European Union’s migrant quota scheme so that Hungarians can decide their own fate, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday.

Szijjártó reacted to comments Luxembourg’s foreign minister made to German public broadcaster ARD over the weekend in which Jean Asselborn said the EU would “die” if its decisions were made through referendums. Asselborn predicted that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would “win this referendum” and added that other EU member states might follow Hungary’s example and hold their own referendums on EU matters.

Szijjártó said in a statement that Europe “would only die if its leaders fail to see the difference between genuine refugees and illegal economic migrants and if they fail to understand that their main concern should be ensuring the safety and well-being of the people who elected them.”

Socialists to submit to parliament draft resolution on two referendum initiatives

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, May 7 (MTI) – The opposition Socialists will on Monday submit to parliament a draft resolution on the two referendum initiatives sponsored by the party, the leader of the national board said on Saturday.

Over the past four weeks, the party has collected more than 100,000 signatures in support of each of its two referendum initiatives, László Botka told a press conference.

The two referendum initiatives concern the government’s state-owned land privatisation programme and the introduction of a 2 million forint cap on public officials’ salaries.

Given how well the signature collection is going, the initiatives must go before parliament for a vote similarly to the referendum initiated by the government on the EU’s mandatory migrant quota scheme, Botka said.

“Logic dictates that a national vote should be held on the same day about the three questions, with all of them included on the same referendum sheet,” he said.

It costs about six billion forints (EUR 19 million) in central funds to hold a single national referendum, Botka said, expressing hope that ruling Fidesz would not “throw such an amount to the wind out of political prestige.”

Liberal NGOs criticise supreme court over govt migrant quota referendum approval

Budapest, May 4 (MTI) – Three rights organisations and a think-tank criticised a recent Kuria decision giving the green light to a government-initiated referendum on migrant quotas, in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Citizens in the proposed referendum would be asked:

“Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary without the approval of parliament?”

The Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) and Political Capital said that the question does not fall within parliament’s authority and “falsely suggests” that the outcome of a national referendum would eventually oblige parliament to pass a decision that could “override” a common decision made on an EU-level.

The government defines Hungary’s position on the quota system and parliament has no influence on that position, they added.

The civil groups also said the wording of the question was ambiguous, leaving the exact subject of the referendum unclear.

It is also unclear what legal obligations the national assembly would have after the referendum, they said, adding that the outcome would then give the government a “blank cheque.”

A referendum should be an instrument of “complementing” or “counter-balancing” the government’s actions, but the incumbent cabinet has changed the referendum law under which it has become “extremely difficult” for the opposition to initiate a national vote on any matter, they said.

The planned referendum does not serve the objective of expressing the public’s will, it only serves the government’s political goals, the four organisations insisted.

In its response, ruling Fidesz said that the statement was an attack on the referendum initiative by “pro-immigration groups”. Those organisations “supporting pro-immigration policy and pro-immigration parties of the Left in fact seek to get immigrants to Hungary and to Europe, while the government is protecting the borders of Hungary and of the European Union,” Fidesz said.

Photo: MTI

Election Committee rejects PM party referendum initiative concerning Paks

Budapest (MTI) – The National Election Committee turned down a referendum initiative by the opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party concerning a planned upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant, on Monday.

The initiative, submitted by PM’s MEP Benedek Jávor, was aimed at thwarting the cooperation agreement between the Hungarian and Russian governments, under which the project is to be implemented.

In its decision, the committee referred to the constitution and said that a referendum cannot be held in connection with issues governed by international accords.

Photo: MTI

Fidesz requests scrutiny of Socialist referendum initiative

Daily News Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – Ruling Fidesz has asked the National Data Protection Authority (NAIH) to launch an investigation into the Socialist Party’s collecting signatures for a referendum concerning Hungary’s recently abolished Sunday shopping restrictions.

János Halász, Fidesz’s parliamentary spokesman, said on Friday that since parliament has lifted the restrictions, the Socialists’ going ahead with the referendum was “illegitimate, therefore unfair”. Halász insisted that the Socialists were “misleading the people” and were illegitimately collecting their personal data through the signature drive.

Earlier in the day, Socialist leader József Tóbiás said the referendum was necessary because “several senior government politicians” had made it clear that despite parliament’s decision they would fight for reintroducing the ban.

LMP: Fidesz referendum law amendment proposal ‘ploy to avoid scandal’

Budapest, April 13 (MTI) – The green opposition LMP is calling for major changes to the referendum law and sees the ruling Fidesz party’s amendment proposal as no more than a ploy to avoid a scandal, party leader András Schiffer said on Wednesday.

The Fidesz proposal will not make it easier for people to have a say in the country’s affairs, Schiffer told a press conference.

After the incident at the election office at the end of February, LMP initiated consultations with parliamentary groups about amending the election law, he said. The aim of amendments proposed by LMP would be more than to prevent the abuse of the law, he added.

Fidesz initially showed an openness to amendments on campaign financing rules and regulations for the legal standing of election committee members, but these amendments are missing from the justice ministry proposal that parliament started to debate on Wednesday, Schiffer said.

LMP’s expert on public involvement, Istvan Ferenczi, said the party wants to radically expand opportunities for direct democracy, and grassroots referendum initiatives would be granted protection even from government and presidential interference. LMP proposes that constitutional amendments should be possible on the basis of a referendum and the threshold for the validity of local initiatives should be lowered, he added. The rules of campaign financing and information supplies should be made stricter and state bodies or local council organisations should be banned from participating in campaigns, he said.

Photo: MTI (illustration)

Socialists to move ahead with signature drive for Sunday shopping referendum despite law’s repeal

Budapest, April 12 (MTI) – The Socialist Party on Tuesday said it would move ahead with collecting supporting signatures for a referendum on scrapping the law on Sunday shopping restrictions despite parliament revoking the law earlier in the day.

Party leader József Tóbiás told a press conference that his party believed the government was not ready to rule out reintroducing the law. Although the government rushed to scrap the law, it has made it clear that there was a chance that it could be brought back in the future, Tóbiás said. The Socialist Party wants to preserve “free Sundays”, he said.

Tóbias criticised parliament’s move to scrap the rule which doubles pay for Sunday work and restore the 50 percent bonus rate that was in place before the Sunday shopping restrictions came into effect. He said his party would begin talks with retail trade unions on supplementary pay. Tóbiás insisted that the 100 bonus rate should be left intact.

Lajos Kósa, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, told a news conference that the issues of Sunday working conditions and related supplementary pay would be clarified shortly. Citing regulations, he said that had parliament not voted today to revoke the law then, in the case of a successful referendum, it would have not been possible to resolve the issue of supplementary pay in the private sector for the next three years. Kosa added that the Socialists had framed their referendum question in such a way that all aspects of the law on Sunday shopping restrictions would be abolished, and this would have included lifting more generous wage conditions. Today’s vote, however, offers an opportunity to clarify and resolve these questions within a short space of time, he added.

Photo: MTI

Government proposes revoking law on Sunday work restrictions – UPDATE

Budapest, April 11 (MTI) – The government has proposed that parliament should revoke the law regulating Sunday working restrictions, cabinet chief Antal Rogán said on Monday, adding that the issue had proved socially divisive over the past year.

Rogán told a news conference that working and payment conditions prior to last year’s law, enacted on March 14, 2015, would be restored. This includes rules governing supplementary weekend pay.

He said that parliament would consider the motion as soon as Tuesday, and the new legislation revoking the law could be enforced as soon as the weekend.

The opposition Socialist Party recently succeeded in getting its referendum question approved by the authorities seeking to restore Sunday shopping.

Rogán insisted the government had met its original goal of boosting retail sales and employment over the past year. But he said “economic goals” were not paramount. “Six years ago we won a mandate to govern together with the people,” he said.

The cabinet concluded it would be “irresponsible” to spend billions on a referendum on this particular issue when there were more burning questions such as the one on European Union migration quotas. A referendum would have cost around 5 billion forints (EUR 16m). This and related costs could be saved by lifting the law, he added.

He said he would ask the groups of ruling Fidesz and the allied ruling Christian Democrats to support the imitative at their group meetings on Monday.

government-hungary-vargaEconomy Minister Mihály Varga told the press conference that they have conducted an assessment of the Sunday shopping restrictions and this would be published later on. Retail sales, far from being hampered, actually grew by 5.6 percent last year, he said. Employment in the retail sector was up by 3,300 at the end of 2015 compared with a year earlier, and even now there are 6,600 unfilled jobs in the sector, Varga said.

Shops exempted from the Sunday closure rule currently include ones under 200sqm that are family-run, as well as pharmacies, petrol stations, airport shops, retailers at bus and train stations, and sellers at markets or fairs. The Sunday restrictions do not apply to tourism, culture or catering businesses, to commercial accommodation, baths or businesses in areas designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Last week, Hungary’s supreme court approved the Socialists’ referendum question, overturning an earlier decision by the National Election Committee (NVB). The ruling brought an end to a drawn-out dispute over an incident that occurred on Feb. 23 when the Socialist lawmaker making the party’s referendum submission, István Nyakó, was held up by “thugs” just long enough for a rival question to be handed in. The timing of the submissions is significant because Hungary’s current referendum law states that while a question is being examined by a court, it is not possible to submit another question on the same subject.

Nyakó said today that the government decision to revoke the law on Sunday shopping restrictions was “a small victory for the opposition Socialists and a big one for the electorate”. For the second time, the ruling parties have been forced to “back off”, Nyakó told MTI, referring to demonstrations that resulted in the withdrawal of plans to introduce an internet tax in the past. In the light of the government decision, the referendum initiative has become unnecessary, he said.

At the same time, a criminal act still occurred at the election office on Feb. 23, he said. As long as it is not known who planned it and organised it, “democracy is in a state of emergency in the country”.

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) urged parliament to vote as soon as possible on revoking Sunday shopping restrictions. Spokesman Zsolt Gréczy said the government announcement could also be considered DK’s success because the party had submitted the first referendum initiative on the subject.

The opposition Együtt party said the decision reflects the government’s “fright” over the fact that Hungarian people disfavour the Sunday restriction. If Fidesz revoked laws people disliked it would have to abandon the construction of sports stadiums and other vanity projects, party lawmaker Szabolcs Szabó told a press conference.

The opposition PM party would propose to lawmakers that after revoking the Sunday work ban and going back to the status quo ante, the rule which doubles pay for Sunday work introduced since should be kept, spokesman Bence Tordai said.

Photo: MTI