Hungary
Parliamentary Elections
Electoral system
- Unicameral parliament
- Name: National Assembly (Országgyülés)
- Members: 386
- Term: 4 years
- Constituencies: 176 single-member constituencies; 20 territorial multi-member constituencies (returning 146 Deputies - the remaining 64 Deputies are chosen from "national lists" of candidates)
- Voting system: Mixed: Single-member constituencies: two rounds of voting are normally held. Each elector casts two votes, one for an individual candidate and one for a party list. If, within the constituency, no candidate obtains an absolute majority of the votes in the first ballot, or if less than half of the registered electors have voted, a second ballot is held. In the latter case (fewer than half of the voters), all candidates may run again; the one then obtaining the most votes is declared elected, provided that at least 25% of the constituency's electorate has voted. In the former case (no absolute majority for any individual), all candidates having gained at least 15% of the valid votes may run again; if this number is only one or two, the three having obtained the most first-ballot votes are entitled to continue. In either event, the candidate with the most votes is then declared elected, provided that at least 25% of the constituency's electorate has voted.
Territorial constituencies: proportional representation (simple electoral quotient) in a single ballot, unless voter participation falls below 50%. Parties polling less than 5% of the popular vote do not gain a parliamentary seat through this system.
National constituency: 64 seats are allotted to political parties on a full proportional basis according to "scrap votes", i.e. those cast for previously unsuccessful constituency candidates or lists, added together to form a national total. - Voter requirements: 18 years of age; Hungarian citizenship including naturalized citizens; residence in Hungary at the time of election.
- Voting is not compulsory.
Latest elections
Date of election: 11 and 25 April 2010
Main issues: The election campaign was influenced by the high unemployment rate - nearly 11 per cent in March 2010. The MSZP (in the ruling coalition with SZDSZ) was further damaged by a series of corruption scandals involving its members and officials. Consequently, the opposing FIDESZ-KDNP campaigned under the slogan "The time has come!" ("Itt az ido!). It promised to create 1 million jobs over 10 years, boost lending, support small business and cut taxes. Other major contenders included the Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik), a right wing party, and Politics Can Be Different (LMP), a green-liberal party founded in February 2009.
The Jobbik's (right-wing party founded in 2003; it won nearly 15 per cent of the votes in the European Parliament elections in June 2009) participation in the 2010 elections caused much controversy. Jobbik used anti-Roma and anti-Semitic rhetoric, and party leader Gabor Vona argued that "Hungary belongs to the Hungarians". Both the FIDESZ-KDNP and MSZP refused the possibility to enter a coalition with Jobbik.
Outcome:A total of 265 out of 386 members were elected in the first round. The FIDESZ-KDNP won a resounding victory, winning 206 of the 265 confirmed seats in the first round. It swept all 119 seats elected from the single-member constituencies. The MSZP came in a distant second, winning only 28 seats. The Jobbik came in third with 26 seats, entering parliament for the first time. The LMP won five seats. The MDF failed to surpass the five-per-cent threshold.
In the second round held on 25 April, the FIDESZ-KDNP won an additional 57 seats, thus controlling 263 in the 386-member National Assembly. The MSZP and the Jobbik won a total of 59 and 47 seats respectively. The LMP followed with 16 seats while one independent candidate took the remainder. Fidesz leader Viktor Orban became the new prime minister, a position he held from 1998-2002.
Jobbik, % of votes. NUTS 3. First round; list votes
Sources
Inter-Parliamentary Union, PARLINE database on national parliaments
Constituency-Level Elections Archive (CLEA): country descriptions.
National Election Commission: Election results.
ElectionGuide: http://www.electionguide.org/
