State Audit Office

Marching towards a dictatorship, says Jobbik deputy leader

This press release published on Márton Gyöngyösi Facebook-account:

I have contemplated a lot whether or not to write about the state of our public discourse or about where the increasingly aggressive remarks of our politicians or public figures may lead to. One reason for my uncertainty was the fact that this issue had regularly been used by certain political actors for their own agenda; typically with less than enough justification. The other reason was “let the cobbler stick to his last”: it is not necessarily a fortunate thing if politicians publish moral commentaries and try to take the bread out of the mouths of “ the professionals”, i.e., publicists and philosophers.

It’s never a good idea to talk of the devil but I am afraid there is much more than that here: we are no longer facing marginal statements, slips of the tongue or the occasional badly-worded sentence. Instead, it is a process with an unforeseeable end. That’s why we have to talk about it.

On March 15 last year, Viktor Orbán threatened anyone with even just slightly different views on the world with a moral, political and legal retribution.

These words did not come from the mouth of a marginal, minor party leader or an inexperienced political upstart but from that of the Prime Minister. The sowed seeds seem to have sprouted and the members of the political side which used to proudly call itself civic are now a rich source of the seeds of hatred. Their message is that if you are not with us, you are simply a nobody. This was what Fidesz members sang in the evening of April 8, thus sending a message well in advance to anyone who was not a member of their branch. Now it’s part of Fidesz’ folklore in the form of a moderately sophisticated song. Of course, these things are still not enough for some people: the owner of Fidesz Membership Card No. 5, i.e., Zsolt Bayer keeps throwing much worse curses at basically anyone who is not a Fidesz supporter. (An online magazine recently published an article comparing some of his utterances with the radio broadcasts that instigated the massacre of 800 thousand people in Rwanda in 1994. The difference was not big.) I could go on with this list all the way to the latest harangue by the mayor of Érd.

Everybody have their bad days and since public figures are only human, they do make imprudent, bad statements on occasion, too.

Not all genuinely or seemingly bad remarks are motivated by evil intentions and I would rather refrain from assuming the opposite. However, what we see in Hungary in 2019 is much more than some unfortunate slips of the tongue. What we see here is that the governing party and its leaders ignore the half of the country which did not vote for them. Aware of the dominant position arising from being in government, they shamelessly threaten or humiliate those other people, and use every available forum to make them feel ignored.

The glaring examples of this attitude are the recent Soros-blaming communiqués released by the Hungarian Mail Service and the state-owned Volánbusz Coach Service or the condescending style of the State Audit Office, which is headed by Fidesz’ worn-out ex-lawmaker, László Domokos.

And where does all this lead to? The “good” scenario is that Hungary eventually gets used to this vulgar discourse while problem solving is replaced by cursing at each other. This is one way to do it but then Fidesz should not feel offended if the younger generation, growing up in such an environment, throws even more witty swearwords at them. Meanwhile, the country goes down the tubes.

The bad scenario is that some people begin to take these verbal assaults seriously, which we have seen examples of. The deteriorating public discourse has already led to the stabbing of a renowned mayor in Poland. Do we want to wait until all this name-calling and “retribution” leads to physical violence in Hungary, too? I could also mention how certain semi-criminal figures with ties to Fidesz are issuing online threats to the members of Jobbik’s Youth Platform. How far will we go? Will we end up where being involved in politics becomes a hazardous job? Just like in certain South American countries where assassinations are business as usual?

Or will we go even further; to the point where we were in the 1950s?

The bad news is that we cannot see the end of this process. If public figures, politicians elected by popular vote can be threatened, called nobody and ruined without any consequence, what should the average joe expect? Should they just expect to be struck down by the government or a local oligarch? We have seen something like this in Hungarian history: after World War II, Communists gradually took over the country. They began to eliminate multi-party democracy, then they imprisoned or deported opposition politicians, followed by dissenters and finally everyone who didn’t fit into the picture. Eventually, keeping a low profile didn’t help either because just a few malevolent rumours were enough to get you indicted. “Don’t just guard them, hate them!” this was the slogan of the wardens working in the headquarters of the Communist secret police.

Orbán and his friends are now toying with hatred. If you are not with them, they mark you for destruction. This path is a dictatorship’s path.

I hope we can still take a turn and make Hungary a reliable and safe European country again. That’s what Jobbik works for, and that’s what we will cast our ballots for in the European parliamentary elections on May 26.

February 20, 2019

Opposition parties criticise Orbán’s state-of-the-nation address – UPDATE

Speakers at a joint demonstration of the opposition parties criticised Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s state-of-the-nation address and challenged him on the state of democracy in Budapest on Sunday.

About 1,000-1,500 demonstrators gathered in front of the President’s Office and the Prime Minister’s Office in Buda Castle, with activists holding flags of the Socialist, DK, Jobbik and Momentum parties.

ORBÁN STATE-OF-THE NATION ADDRESS IN BUDAPEST – HERE ARE THE SURPRISING ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Zsolt Gréczy, parliamentary spokesman of the leftist opposition DK, said Viktor Orbán is Hungary’s dictator and Hungary’s form of government is dictatorship.

He said Orban’s state-of-the-nation address ignored the deceived foreign currency loan holders, pensioners who do not receive their pension on time, and young people who cannot go to university to continue their education.

Péter Jakab, spokesman of Jobbik, said Orbán had “thrown ten thousand people out on the street” in three years, and “turned his childhood crony into the richest man in the country”.

Jakab said the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) is sanctioning the opposition in order to prevent them from campaigning in the European parliamentary election and the municipal election, accusing Fidesz of preparing for election fraud.

Erzsébet Schmuck, deputy parliamentary leader of the green LMP, said Orbán had made a huge mistake by adopting the “slave law” because this meant turning against Hungarian workers.

She said the prime minister had announced his family policy measures because he had realised that he could not win the European parliamentary election by constantly talking about migrants.

Anett Bősz of the Liberals told her audience they needed to give courage and faith to those who were “trodden on” by the government, and to rebuild the rule of law and democracy.

Socialist MP Ildiko Borbély Bangó said

members of the next generation will only be able to have a better life than their parents if they leave their country to study and build a future for themselves abroad.

Balázs Nemes, spokesman of Momentum, said “hope is spreading” because “the Fidesz regime has already failed in the capital”, and first major cities, and later smaller towns will follow suit.

Independent MP Bernadett Szél said Orbán wants to see “a stupid country with dumbed-down subjects”, this is why he chased away the country’s best university and enchains the others or converts them into private universities that “only his cronies can afford”.

“The Hungarian Academy of Sciences was founded by the greatest Hungarian and the smallest Hungarian wants to put it in the grave,” she said.

Protesters marched over to the headquarters of the State Audit Office to continue the demonstration.

Representatives of the opposition parties said the governing Fidesz party is trying to use the office to hamper their activity by administrative means.

At the end of the demonstration, protesters placed stickers with the words “Fidesz party headquarters” on the entrance of the ÁSZ headquarters.

UPDATE

DK to file criminal complaint over activist hit at Sunday demo

The Democratic Coalition (DK) will file charges for “government brutality” because they say a security guard hit a party activist, Gergo Varga, at Sunday’s demonstration during the prime minister’s state of the nation address, the leftist party told a press conference on Monday.

During the demonstration at Budapest’s Várkert Bazár, activists placed sheets of paper reading “Thief” and other slurs on the cordon, Varga said. One of the security guards lashed out at him, he said. Police also stopped them from projecting an image slamming Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences during the demonstration, he added.

DK spokesman Sándor Rónai said that the party will file charges of brutality against the security guard and a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Board for what they see as curbing their right to free expression.

February 11, 2019

Jobbik to start spring parliament session with strong, united group

Conservative Jobbik will be represented in parliament by a strong and united group faithful to its creed during the spring session and will act in a similar spirit throughout 2019, the opposition party’s group leader said on Friday, wrapping up their meeting in Mátraszentlászló.

Assessing the three-day meeting, Márton Gyöngyösi told reporters in nearby Gyöngyös that

those were wrong who expected that ruling Fidesz’s “intrigues” and fines by the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) would drive Jobbik “into depression”.

The lawmakers agreed that the party will fight against Fidesz’s “semi-feudal and dictatorial rule” in parliament and out in the street, Gyöngyösi said.

Jobbik will continue to represent Hungarian national interests and offer “an alternative” to Fidesz’s policies, he said, adding that the party was prepared to take “rather unconventional” actions.

The participants discussed the “exorbitant ÁSZ fines” of around one billion forints levied on the party, Gyöngyösi said, adding that they would seek to pay it in instalments. Jobbik will at the same time file a lawsuit with the European human rights court in Strasbourg and the European court in Luxembourg over the matter, he said.

The meeting approved that Jobbik will field a list of its own for the May EP elections and publish the names of their candidates soon, the group leader said, adding the party had already finalised its programme.

SECOND STRONGEST POLITICAL PARTY JOBBIK TO BE ELIMINATED BY THE STATE AUDIT OFFICE?

Tamás Sneider, the chairman of Jobbik, called together an extraordinary party congress because the State Audit Office fined the party for 270 M HUF (EUR 844 thousand). According to Sneider, they are going to discuss two topics: the termination of their parliamentary group which would raise further financial questions and the continuation of the national resistance announced by the party last year, read more HERE.

February 9, 2019

Jobbik demands more transparency of MPs’ assets

Budapest parliament winter Hungarian flag

The current system in which members of parliament are required to make public asset declarations once a year should be made more transparent, opposition Jobbik spokesman György Szilágyi said on Tuesday.

Family members of the same household as the MP should also be obliged to make similar declarations, Szilágyi told a press conference.

Also, “an independent tax authority” should screen the MPs and their families to keep abreast of the assets they accumulate during a parliamentary cycle, he said.

The families of Jobbik‘s MPs have made their assets public, Szilágyi noted. He praised opposition LMP for volunteering to do the same.

Szilágyi also announced that Jobbik will hold a special congress on Feb. 23 to discuss a recent fine the State Audit Office ordered the party to pay. Jobbik considers the measure as well as an earlier fine by the same authority “illegitimate” and will seek remedy in international forums, he added. Paying the two fines amounting to a combined one billion forints (EUR 3.2m) would make it impossible for Jobbik to run in the upcoming European Parliament elections, he added.

At its congress, Jobbik will discuss “one option to terminate the party” as well as “ways to pursue national resistance”, Szilágyi said.

SECOND STRONGEST POLITICAL PARTY JOBBIK TO BE ELIMINATED BY THE STATE AUDIT OFFICE?

February 5, 2019

Leftist opposition calls for Hungarian State Audit Office chief’s dismissal

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) will initiate dismissing the head of the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) whose authority the party says has “paralysed” opposition parties by levying fines on them, DK’s deputy group leader said on Sunday.

Led by László Domokos, a former lawmaker of ruling Fidesz, ÁSZ has fined all of the opposition parties over the past years, Gergely Arató told a press conference, saying that by levying the fines, the authority was “executing a political order”.

ÁSZ has never levied any fine on ruling Fidesz, he said, insisting that contrary to its statute, ÁSZ had not acted as an independent authority.

Arató said ÁSZ had abused the law that says its decisions cannot be appealed in court.

DK will propose to the other opposition parties to initiate in parliament’s Immunity Committee the removal of Domokos from his post.

Reaction

Hungary’s State Audit Office responded by firmly rejecting Arató’s statement, calling it an “unfounded accusation” and “an attack on the rule of law”, in a statement.

ÁSZ said it conducts its audits in line with rigorous international auditing standards transparently and independently from the government or any political party, in accordance with the rule of law.

“ÁSZ does not participate in party politics,” the office said.

STRONGEST OPPOSITION PARTY JOBBIK TO BE ELIMINATED BY THE STATE AUDIT OFFICE?

Photo: zoom.hu

February 4, 2019

Jobbik launches signature drive for ‘slave law’ repeal

Conservative Jobbik has started a nationwide signature drive for the repeal of the labour code amendments tightening overtime rules in an attempt “to fight back” against “the governing parties that seek to eliminate Hungary’s strongest opposition force”, the deputy leader of the party said on Sunday.

Jobbik has already turned to Hungary’s supreme court, the Kúria, over the National Election Committee’s ruling rejecting the party’s national referendum initiative for the legislation’s withdrawal.

“We have chosen this form of action at a time when at stake is Jobbik’s survival,” Dániel Z Kárpát said, arguing that the party’s operation had been “practically paralysed by the State Audit Office” and “decisions by [ruling] Fidesz”.

“Fidesz and the Audit Office both know that Jobbik will not be able to pay the unreasonably excessive fine ASZ has levied on the party,” he added.

Z Kárpát said Jobbik would continue to fight for its survival as the “last remaining defender of democracy”.

As we wrote a few days ago, Tamás Sneider, the chairman of Jobbik, called together an extraordinary party congress because the State Audit Office fined the party for 270 M HUF (EUR 844 thousand). According to Sneider, they are going to discuss two topics: the termination of their parliamentary group which would raise further financial questions and the continuation of the national resistance announced by the party last year, read more details HERE.

February 4, 2019

Jobbik to convene congress over Audit Office fine

Right-wing opposition Jobbik will convene an emergency congress to discuss the situation in light of fines levied on the party by the State Audit Office (ASZ) for violating campaign financing rules in last spring’s general election, the leader of the party said on Friday.

Paying the close to one billion forint fine levied by ASZ altogether will practically prevent the party from running a campaign in the European parliamentary elections to be held this May, Tamás Sneider told a press conference.

The congress to be called within the next 2-4 weeks will discuss two key issues, with one being “the possibility of dismantling the party overall”, which Sneider said would ultimately lead to dissolving the party’s parliamentary group.

The other item on the agenda, he added, would be “discussing the continuation of Jobbik’s national resistance”.

“Those who rule the country today are punishing Jobbik because they fear that, according to the polls, the party could have up to four MEPs elected to serve in Brussels,” he said.

The aim of the fine is “to eliminate” the party, Sneider said, adding that Jobbik would not give up its fight for survival.

Jobbik’s board will decide about the date of the congress at its meeting on Monday.

ASZ in response rejected “accusations made by Jobbik and the political pressure exerted by the party to influence the authority in carrying out its financial audit as required by law”. In a statement, ASZ called on the party leader to acknowledge the irregularities its audit revealed instead of “making false statements about the authority and misleading the public”.

Feaured image: www.facebook.com/JobbikMagyarorszagertMozgalom

February 2, 2019

Second strongest political party Jobbik to be eliminated by the State Audit Office?

As we reported earlier, before last year’s parliamentary election, Jobbik was fined more than 660 million forints (EUR 2 million) by the SAO for unauthorised campaigning. According to Sneider, SAO’s latest fine means that the party would have to pay almost 1 billion HUF (EUR 2.8 M) which is nearly impossible – reported magyarhang.org. At the moment, the biggest question is whether Jobbik, as the biggest opposition party, can or cannot continue its work – added Sneider.

SAO examined Y2018 thus, the money Jobbik spent on the 2018 elections. In fact, SAO published their report yesterday based on which Jobbik was fined 136 M HUF (EUR 425 thousand), and the party’s state support would be reduced by the same amount of money. The cause is prohibited financial support of 136.4 M HUF.

According to the SAO, the party said in its financial report that it spent 170 M HUF on the campaign using its own sources but was not able to prove the origin of 52 million forints from this amount. However, Jobbik says that this money is the residual amount of Y2017, and they sent all account statements regarding the issue to the SAO. Furthermore, Jobbik presented 84 M HUF as campaign spending, but actually, that amount was loans. Jobbik says that the loan was provided by two state institutions: the Hungarian Post and the National Tax and Customs Administration. This means that, according to the State Audit Office, two state institutions provided prohibited financing for the biggest opposition party.

Péter Jakab, the spokesman of Jobbik, said that the State Audit Office went over the top against the rule of law and the remains of the Hungarian democracy, and they want to eliminate the party with this unlawful decision.

Since there is no opportunity to appeal against the decisions of the SAO in Hungary, Jobbik will bring the case to the court of Strassburg like the previous one.

Featured image: facebook.com/pg/JobbikMagyarorszagertMozgalom

Photo: twitter.com/GyongyosiMarton

February 2, 2019

Hungarian state auditor: 2016/17 ruling party finances in order

The finances of allied ruling Fidesz and Christian Democrats complied with regulations in 2016 and 2017, and the two parties ensured transparency in their use of public monies, the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) said in a report released on Tuesday.

In its 2016 financial asset declaration, Fidesz reported income of 1.84 billion forints (EUR 5.8m) and spending of 1.57 billion forints, State Audit Office said on its website.

In 2017, the party’s income totalled 1.57 billion forints and spending 1.25 billion.

In each of those years, Fidesz received central budget funding of 876.6 million forints, the office said.

The Christian Democrats reported income in 2016 of 172.2 million forints and spending of 166.2 million. In 2017, income totalled 210.3 million forints and spending 171 million. The party received central funding of 152.7 million forints in each of those years, ÁSZ said.

The auditor said Fidesz had established a system of financial control but in 2017 it did not set up a relevant supervisory board as new basic rules prescribed.

ÁSZ asked the party’s head to prepare an action plan within 30 days to address the issue.

The audit revealed a weakness in KDNP’s accounting and ÁSZ also asked the party’s head to prepare an action plan within 30 days to address them.

THE HUNGARIAN STATE AUDIT OFFICE CONTINUES TO FINANCIALLY UNDERMINE THE OPPOSITION?

January 29, 2019

The Hungarian State Audit Office continues to financially undermine the Opposition?

Anti-government Demonstration in Budapest

Opposition party Jobbik is once again threatened by a hundred million forints fine by the State Audit Office, but they are not the only ones in financial danger: government aid for Párbeszéd and Momentum was revoked. The decisions are especially harsh as the next European Parliament campaign is coming up.

Népszava reports that the Hungarian State Audit Office is about to fine Jobbik again for over 100 million forints (EUR 300 thousand). The final decision is yet to be settled, so within a given deadline, Jobbik can comment on the draft. Before last year’s parliamentary election, Jobbik was fined more than 660 million forints (EUR 2 million) by the SAO for unauthorised campaigning.

According to Népszava, the government aid for Párbeszéd and Momentum was revoked, although they have not yet received an official notice. The paper has contacted the State Audit Office, enquiring whether they wish to transfer the aids to the respective parties and if not, what is the reason for not doing so.

The last time Párbeszéd has received their government aid was in October, when 23 million forints (EUR 70 thousand) were allocated into their account.

Kocsis-Cake Olivio, party director of Párbeszéd, told Népszava that roughly the same amount should have already been transferred to them as First Quarter aid.

The prospects of Momentum are not better either. They too have received their aids for the Fourth Quarter in 2018 – the party in October, their foundation in December. However, the party has still not received their 12 million forints (EUR 37 thousand) aid for Q1, nor did the foundation they’re respective 21 million forints (EUR 65 thousand).

Since the State Audit Office could not check on the campaign spendings and it could not find the parties at their registered offices, the SAO threatened to not only suspend government aids but to also fine them.

Párbeszéd has submitted on December 11^th the required papers confirming the change of location of their office, along with the receipts, contracts and other documents accounting for campaign funds, the SAO has not yet responded. Hajnal (Momentum) argues that the threats made by the SAO are without basis since Momentum has informed the SAO in time and the proper fashion about their change of office.

Both Kocsis-Cake and Hajnal told Párbeszéd that if they do not receive the aids, they will be put in an extremely difficult situation: Párbeszéd would not be able to pay their colleagues and the party would not have enough money to prepare for the upcoming elections. Momentum would try to fund their European Parliament election campaign from charity, as they have done so previously, though not with such an amount of money. They have lawyers looking into the case, but as Kocsis-Cake reasoned:

the SAO has their own interpretation of the law, so it would come as no surprise if the parties would be helpless against them.

featured image: Daily News Hungary

January 13, 2019

Anti-corruption fight successful in Hungary, says Interior Minister

Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Pintér said on Monday that Hungary had made successful efforts to stifle corruption.

Pintér addressed an event marking the seventh anniversary of an anti-graft cooperation agreement signed by Hungarian authorities and the International Anti-Corruption Day of December 9.

The minister welcomed significant progress in fighting corruption, adding that automated bureaucratic processes were of great help in “reducing the chance of temptations”.

Tünde Handó, head of the National Judiciary Office, said that judges’ impartiality is ensured by individual and organisational independence. All parties wish impartial and fair treatment in judiciary processes, she added.

László Domokos, head of the National Audit Office (ASZ), said that Hungarian authorities are cooperating successfully against corruption.

Preventive measures are up to standard in international comparison as well, he said.

Csaba Balázs Rigó, the head of the Public Procurement Authority, said that in a practice unique in the EU, the public procurement authority also reviews the implementation of contracts upon request.

December 11, 2018

Political parties afoul of funding rules will get less state money from July

Budget support for all parties that ran afoul of political financing rules will start receiving less state support from July, the treasury said on Monday.

The State Audit Office established before the April 8 general election that the radical nationalist Jobbik party had received illicit financial contribution amounting to 331.6 million forints (EUR 1.03m).

The now defunct Együtt party chalked up prohibited funding of 9.8 million forints, while the leftist Democratic Coalition (DK) had 8.2 million on its books.

Other parties received unlawful monies each between just over 2 million forints and 7.5 million.

The treasury decided not to fine the parties in the run-up to the election and did not make any central funding deductions from any party before the end of April.

The law stipulates that a party’s support from the central budget should be reduced by the same amount as any funding violations over the timeframe of the next four years.

The authorities have outlined deduction regimes for the various parties depending on the nature and extent of their infractions.

June 12, 2018

Jobbik to turn to Strasbourg court over state auditor fine

Jobbik is turning to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over a fine levied on it by the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) last year.

In the spring, the party ran an anti-government poster campaign. The audit office conducted a financial investigation of the campaign, determining that Jobbik had received a sweetheart deal worth some 330 million forints in violation of the rules in force. It ordered the party to pay a penalty of double this amount.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Jobbik group leader János Volner called the more than 660 million forint (EUR 2.1m) fine levied on the party “unlawful”.

Volner said the state auditor’s fine had angered voters of all affiliations.

He insisted that ÁSZ had applied double standards by imposing the fine, arguing that ruling Fidesz had received a “more favourable deal” to rent ad hoardings than Jobbik, yet ÁSZ had found no irregularities in its finances.

As we wrote few weeks ago, the State Audit Office (SAO) has received the Public Prosecutor’s resolution stating that Jobbik did not obstruct the audit process. Read more HERE.

In response, ÁSZ called on Jobbik to refrain from using the independent state auditor for “campaign purposes”, and from “baseless vilification”.

ÁSZ emphasised that it had conducted the review of Jobbik by duly observing all the related rules and regulations.

Photo: MTI

March 20, 2018

Public prosecutor calls State Audit Office’s bluff: Jobbik committed no unlawful act

The State Audit Office (SAO) has just received the Public Prosecutor’s resolution stating that Jobbik did not obstruct the audit process. In its press release issued last October, the State Audit Office claimed it turned to the Public Prosecutor to prove that Jobbik refused to cooperate during the audit process. The SAO explained it had no choice but to press charges with the prosecution service as the SAO itself was not an authority so it had no power to conduct investigations or impose penalties.

In contrast, Jobbik stated in several releases and press conferences that the SAO audited the party in such a way that the authority disabled the online data upload function before the deadline, then issued a release saying that Jobbik did not cooperate, and SAO officials refused to take over the paper documents even when Finance Director Péter Schön and Vice President János Volner, followed by the media, went to the SAO’s office to deliver the reports personally. Last Friday the State Audit Office’s website published yet another release but they kept a low profile – even MTI Hungarian News Agency failed to report it – until today when Jobbik announced its press conference to react to the SAO’s new statement.

It’s quite an important communication, though: it says that the SAO has received the Public Prosecutor’s resolution which does not establish a wilful criminal act in connection with the obstruction of the SAO’s audit process. The SAO does not appeal the resolution but maintains that Jobbik failed to do its duties. The Office also points out that the Public Prosecutor’s decision does not have any impact on the audit report, either.

Earlier, the State Audit Office imposed a HUF-660-million giga-fine on Jobbik on account of illegal political party financing. The opposition party’s politicians have emphasized several times that Jobbik fully complied with the law; the Office did not give a chance for the party to present the requested documents; and that the SAO was just trying to execute PM Orbán’s political order to wipe out the challenger before the elections.

Talking to the press, former SAO vice president László Nyikos said the Office’s activity had been unconstitutional.

Jobbik demands apology and new audit

“Fidesz-Christian Democrats’ lie factory failed again when the originally independent but now manually-controlled State Audit Office’s crimes were revealed,” Jobbik’s vice president Dániel Z. Kárpát reacted in his press conference. The politician added that the substantial fine imposed on the opposition party had also been proven unfounded. Suggesting a historical comparison, Mr Z. Kárpát said Communists would have begged on their knees for the scenario as the whole procedure was nothing but a show trial. Jobbik calls upon SAO leaders to face the public and apologize to a political community which they attempted to wipe out for political reasons, without any professional grounds.

The opposition party also demands the Office to conduct a new and fully legal audit. Mr Z. Kárpát sent the message to Viktor Orbán not to set formerly independent state organizations on his political rivals but to meet Gábor Vona for a public debate before the elections.

February 7, 2018

Jobbik to field candidates in all constituencies

Patriotic people’s party Jobbik will run candidates in all the 106 individual constituencies in the general election on April 8, party director Gábor Szabó said on Friday.

Jobbik has officially registered at the National Election Office as a party to participate in the election, he said in a statement.

Jobbik will run independently with the aim of replacing the government, he said.

Szabó accused the government of using the State Audit Office to impose an “illegal” fine of 663 million forints (EUR 2.1m) “in order to prevent Jobbik from running in the election”. Their attempt, however, proved to be a fiasco, he added.

The director said that donations of 101.24 million forints had already been collected from over 6500 Hungarian donors who are prepared to help Jobbik pay the fine.

The State Audit Office has imposed the fine for alleged violations of party financing regulations.

After Jobbik submitted a complaint against the decision, the office said the fine could also be paid at a later date, after the elections, and in instalments.

Featured image: MTI

January 26, 2018

Jobbik: State Audit Office violates law

The State Audit Office’s report published on Monday on the Y2015-2016 financial management of Jobbik Movement for a Better Hungary is, for the most part, an identical copy of the draft resolution issued on December 6, 2017 – states the party in a press release.

In the past 1 month, the Audit Office has failed to identify any new information or circumstance to support its statements, and neither was this time enough for them to realize the unlawful and unprofessional nature of their draft resolution. The proceedings and the final resolution issued on Monday clearly reveal that the State Audit Office (SAO) did not comply with the relevant law as we demonstrated in detail in our observations published on December 21, 2017.

Furthermore, the SAO’s final resolution released on Monday violates the effective law in additional points, as Article 29 (3) of Act LXVI of 2011 on the State Audit Office of Hungary specifically states:
“The State Audit Office of Hungary shall respond to the observations in writing within thirty days from receipt. In its report, the State Audit Office of Hungary shall indicate any observations not taken into account, and shall give reasons for not accepting them.”

The Audit Office did not respond to the observations we submitted. They did not even indicate our observations in the report, they arbitrarily took only two of them into account, but even in these cases they indicated their own interpretation instead of our actual observations.

The SAO also falsely claims that Jobbik made only two observations regarding the draft resolution. Contrary to that, Jobbik in fact submitted a 36-page document, including the attachments, in which we disproved the SAO’s claims item by item. Shirking his responsibility, SAO President László Domokos refused to personally sign the unlawful report and had an associate, who had been appointed a few months before, sign the document. The released report does not contain a notice of the liability to pay the guesstimated amount of the forbidden financial contribution arbitrarily established by the State Audit Office, so the payment of the forbidden financial contribution “established” in the SAO release is incomprehensible.

Jobbik emphasizes that the party has complied with the effective law in every aspect, the SAO did not conduct a substantial investigation, in fact, the Office itself blocked the procedure while its report has failed to substantiate any of its claims.

featured image: Jobbik party leader Gábor Vona, source: MTI

January 9, 2018

Opposition DK refuses to pay Audit Office fine

The leftist Democratic Coalition (DK) party has refused to pay a 16 million forint (EUR 52,000) fine imposed by the State Audit Office (ÁSZ), the party’s deputy head told the press on Monday.

The ÁSZ decision said that the party has rented offices under market value, Csaba Molnár said. The decision has neglected “to name at least the offices in question”, he said.

According to Molnár, it has been “proven” that

the ÁSZ “acts upon orders by ruling Fidesz” and “levies fines on one opposition party after another”.

It is a way “to strip these parties of chunks of their state funding” months before the election, he said.

DK has notified the audit office of their decision in a letter, and said it “will not pay a farthing” of the “unlawful” fine. DK will also appeal to EU institutions regarding the issue, Molnar added. Should DK be elected to government, ÁSZ leader László Domokos “and his cronies” will have to answer for their actions before court, he said.

Late in December, ÁSZ sent draft reports of scheduled audits pertaining to 2015-2016 to six opposition parties.

According to the draft reports, Jobbik would be fined to 660 million forints, green LMP and DK to 16 million each, and the Liberals to 10 million forints. Jobbik has launched a crowdfunding campaign among its base, and the liberals announced to turn to EU institutions over the matter.

As we wrote december, the opposition Jobbik party held a demonstration to protest against what it called “the evolving dictatorial regime” of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the State Audit Office’s (ÁSZ) recent effort “to sideline the party”. Read more HERE.

January 8, 2018

Audit office sends audit draft reports to six Hungarian parties

Six of Hungary’s political parties whose audits pertaining to 2015-2016 were scheduled for the second half of this year have received the draft reports on their audits, the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) said on Thursday.

The parties in question — LMP, the Democratic Coalition, the Socialist Party, the Hungarian Liberal Party, Együtt and Párbeszéd — have fifteen days to make any remarks about the draft reports before the final reports are published, ÁSZ said.

Jobbik’s audit was also scheduled for the second half of this year, while those of the ruling and co-ruling Fidesz and Christian Democrat parties were not.

ASZ noted in a statement that regulations on illegal party financing changed on January 1, 2014.

Under these regulations, it is against the law for parties to accept donations from legal entities, entities without legal personality, other states, foreign organisations and legal entities who are not Hungarian citizens.

It is also illegal for parties to make use of services at below market prices. These include the use of billboards, renting property or accounting services.

ÁSZ’s statement comes after several opposition parties that were audited in December objected to the office’s draft report on their financing and potential fines indicated in them.

Earlier this month, ASZ issued a report indicating that Jobbik would have to pay a 660 million forint (EUR 2.1m) fine for alleged party financing violations.

Jobbik has launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay the potential fine. Last Friday, the party held a demonstration at Fidesz’s headquarters to protest against what it called “the evolving dictatorial regime” of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and ASZ’s effort “to sideline the party”.

Green opposition LMP also slammed the draft report it had received as “unbelievable”.

In the report, ASZ indicated that the party would have to be fined a total of 16 million forints for allegedly paying too little rent for its headquarters, LMP co-leader Ákos Hadházy said.

Although such a fine would not crush LMP, it is still a hefty fine, Hadházy said, suggesting that the procedure was only meant to give the impression in the media that LMP had grossly violated party financing laws.

Hadházy said this was the first time ASZ had raised any issue with the rent LMP pays for the property. He said the party had been renting the same 260 sqm apartment in Budapest’s 13th district for 400,000 forints a month since 2012.

“It seems that everything is fine with Fidesz, but LMP is one of the biggest obstacles to democracy,” Hadházy said.

December 21, 2017