The last session – Hungarian Parliament wraps up four-year cycle

(MTI) – Parliament held its last session on Thursday, concluding a four-year cycle during which 50 percent more laws were passed than in 2006-2010, data released on parliament’s website show.

Parliament passed or amended a total of 859 laws compared with 587 during the previous cycle. Out of opposition sponsored bills, parliament passed only two laws and three resolutions, compared with 15 and 12 in 2006-2010. Presidents in office during the 2010-2014 cycle sent back altogether 21 laws to parliament for review as against 24 in the previous four-year cycle.

Hungary’s next parliament to be formed after the April 6 election will be composed of 199 lawmakers, down from the current 386.

Only 199 seats will be required in next four-year cycle

As regards lawmakers’ individual parliamentary terms, four long-time stalwarts of now governing Fidesz, party leader and twice prime minister Viktor Orban, house speaker Laszlo Kover, deputy party chair Lajos Kosa and state secretary Zsolt Nemeth will enter parliament on the party list.

After having served five cycles, another Fidesz stalwart, Zoltan Pokorni, has chosen to run as a Budapest district mayor.

In the now opposition Socialists’ 48-member group, a quarter have chosen to withdraw from parliament. They include former party chair and group leader Ildiko Lendvai, and former interior and welfare minister Monika Lamperth, both quitting parliament after 20 years. Former party leader and foreign minister Laszlo Kovacs will not remain a lawmaker either.

The party’s four lawmakers – former finance minister Janos Veres, as well as Tibor Szanyi, Vilmos Szabo and Istvan Ujhelyi – will run for seats in Brussels. Socialist Ivan Vitanyi, aged 89, who is one of those lawmakers having served continuously since 1990, is expected to retire from politics.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://hungarymatter.hu/