ACT NO XXXIV OF 1989 ON THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT
(Enacted by Parliament on 20 October 1989)
PART I
SUFFRAGE
Art.l. Suffrage shall be general and equal, and voting shall be direct and secret.
Art 2. (1) Every adult Hungarian citizen except those mentioned in para. (2) shall have the right to vote during the election of Members of Parliament in the Republic of Hungary (hereafter referred to as elector).
(2) Any person who
(a) is under curatorship restrictive or exclusive of his capacity for action;
(b) has been barred by a final judicial decision from participating in public affairs; (c) is serving a prison sentence;
(d) has been committed in criminal proceedings to compulsory medical treatment shall be disqualified from the franchise.
(3) Every person entitled to vote and domiciled in Hungary shall have the right to be elected.
(4) Any person staying abroad on the day of election and having no permanent or temporary place of residence in Hungary shall be considered to be prevented from exercising his right to vote.
Art.3. Exercise of the right to vote shall be optional.
PART II
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
Chapter I
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Art.4. (1) The number of MPs shall total 386.
(2) There shall be elected 176 MPs in individual constituencies and 152 in county and metropolitan (hereafter territorial) ones. On the basis of a national aggregate of votes less than required for mandates in individual and territorial constituencies the parties may obtain an additional 58 compensatory mandates from the national list.
(3) The number of individual constituencies in the counties and the capital city and that of the mandates obtainable in each territorial constituency as well as the principles governing the establishment of constituencies are determined by the Schedule hereto.
(4) MPs shall have equal rights and duties.
Chapter II
NOMINATION
Art.5. (1) Candidates in individual constituencies may be nominated, subject to the conditions specified by para.(2), by electors and social organisations complying with the provisions of the Act on the Functioning and Finances of Political Parties (henceforth: party). Candidates may also be nominated jointly by two or more parties. In case of candidate being jointly nominated by two or more parties, the names of each nominating party have to be presented on the nomination coupon.
(2) To be nominated in an individual constituency, a person shall have the proposals of at least 750 electors with their signatures affixed thereto. Proposals shall not be made except on a "nomination coupon" as indicated in the Schedule affixed hereto. If a candidate has been nominated separately as individual and also party candidate, the nominating coupons cannot be merged. An elector may propose only one candidate in one individual constituency, and only in the individual constituency in which he/she is resident. In the case of an elector proposing more than one candidates, each of his nominations shall become void.
(3) Candidates in territorial constituencies may be nominated by parties on territorial lists. A territorial list may be drawn up by the party which in a territorial constituency has, in one-fourth, of the individual constituencies but in at least two individual constituencies, presented the number of candidates specified by the Schedule hereto. The right to present a list of candidates shall not be prejudiced by a party candidate having withdrawn in an individual constituency after the first poll.
(4) A national list may be presented by the party which has drawn up lists in at least seven territorial constituencies.
(5) Parties - in case of their joint individual constituency nomination - may jointly present territorial and national lists, furthermore they may combine their lists.
(6) Thrice as many candidates may be put forward on territorial and national lists as there are mandates obtainable on those lists. If the number of announced candidates is smaller than the number of mandates on the list, the remaining mandates shall remain vacant.
(7) One and the same person may be put forward as a candidate concurrently in one individual constituency, on one territorial list and on the national list. If a candidate has obtained a mandate in the individual constituency, his name shall be stricken from the territorial or the national list. If he has obtained a mandate on the territorial list, his name shall be stricken from the national list.
(8) If a candidate is eliminated from a party list, he shall be replaced by the next succeeding candidate.
(9) An elected representative of the Social Security Selfgovernments cannot be proposed as a candidate for a parliamentary seat.
Art.6. (1) The candidates of individual constituencies shall be notified to the electoral board of the respective constituency, those on the territorial list to the territorial electoral committee, and those on the national list to the National Electoral Board, not later than at 4 o'clock PM, thirty days before the election.
(2) Contemporaneously with the notification, the candidate is obliged to hand in to the respective electoral board his personal data: name, address, personal identification number. The nomination shall be accompanied by the candidate's declaration to the effect that he/she
a) has the franchise
b) accepts the nomination
c) holds no post incompatible with his/her mandate as MP or, if he/she holds one, shall relinquish it once elected.
(3) If after the presentation of the nomination a candidate is eliminated from a territorial or the national party-list, the party may put forward another candidate not later than eight days before the election.
(4) The electoral boards shall enter on the register all candidates nominated in accordance with the requirements of law.
Chapter III
DETERMINATION OF ELECTION RESULTS
Art. 7. (1) A candidate in an individual constituency shall become an MP after the first poll if he/she has obtained more than half the votes validly cast, provided that more than one half of electors in the constituency have cast their votes.
(2) If during the first poll the turnout did not exceed half of electors in the constituency (invalid poll), during the second poll.
a) all candidates who have done so during the first poll may stand for election;
b) the candidate having obtained the greatest number of votes validly cast, provided that the turnout exceeded onefourth of electors in the constituency, shall become an MP.
(3) If during the first poll the turnout exceeded one half of electors in the constituency, but no candidate has obtained more than half the votes validly cast (unsuccessful poll), during the second poll
a) the candidates having obtained at least 15 &127; of the votes validly cast during the first poll may stand for election; if there are not three such candidates, the three candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes during the first poll may do so; if any one of the candidates decides to step down during this time, no other candidate may take his/her place;
b) the candidate having obtained the greatest number of votes validly cast, provided that the turnout exceeded onefourth of electors in the constituency, shall become an MP.
(4) The parties which have put forward a common candidate with a joint nomination coupon (Art. 5 para. ( 1 ) - ( 2 ) ) in an individual constituency shall, at least eight days before the election, notify to the electoral board the ratio in which their surplus votes are to be taken into account in the national aggregation of votes.
(5) A by-election shall be conducted in an individual constituency where, for lack of candidates, it was impossible to hold the first or second poll.
Art. 8. (1) The candidates on party lists in territorial constituencies shall obtain mandates in proportion to the number of votes cast, to be calculated in the manner specified by the Schedule hereto, in the order in which they are included in the lists, provided that the turnout exceeded one half of electors.
(2) If the first poll in a territorial constituency is invalid because the turnout did not exceed one half of electors, all candidates on party lists who have done so during the first poll may stand for election during the second poll. The candidates on party lists shall obtain mandates in proportion to the number of votes cast, to be calculated in the manner specified by the Schedule hereto, provided that the turnout exceeded one-fourth of electors.
(3) If, following the calculation in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2), there remain vacant mandates in a territorial constituency, a mandate shall be obtained even by a list that received a number of votes smaller than, but exceeding two-thirds of, those required for a mandate. If there are several such lists, the mandate shall be obtained by the one that has received the next greatest number of votes. If after the calculation there still remains a vacant mandate, it shall be added to those obtainable on the national list.
(4) In the case of a mandate being obtained under para. (3), the difference between the numbers of votes required for a mandate and actually received shall be deducted from the national aggregate of surplus votes obtained by the party putting forward a candidate.
(5) If, however, a territorial party-list failed to receive more than two-thirds of votes required for a mandate in the constituency concerned, or more than 5 % of the national aggregate of the votes validly cast for the territorial party-lists, the party-list shall not obtain a mandate even in the case covered by paragraphs (1) to (3). In this respect only the validly cast votes for the same party territorial lists have to be aggregated. Parties presenting a common or combined list do not receive a mandate, if they fail to receive at least 5 % per party, or in the case of more than three parties, a total of at least 15 % of the national aggregate of validly cast votes. If a party presented common candidates, or common or combined lists, with different parties, in two or more individual, or territorial constituencies, the votes must be aggregated separately for the common candidates, or common or combined lists, when aggregating surplus votes and defining the limit percentage, and also when handing out mandates.
(6) The parties which notified the combination of their lists at least 8 days before election shall obtain mandates in proportion to the aggregate votes cast for their respective lists. The notification to the electoral board shall also indicate the order in which the candidates are to obtain a mandate. The notification shall be made public by the electoral board.
(7) The parties which presented a common list, or combined their respective lists in a territorial constituency shall, at least 8 days before election, notify to the electoral board the proportion in which their surplus votes on the common list or the combined ones are to be taken into account in the national aggregation of votes.
(8) If two or more parties have received equal numbers of votes and stand to obtain mandates with those quantities of votes , but the number of mandates in the territorial constituency is smaller than that of the parties having received equal numbers of votes, the mandates shall be distributed in the order of the ordinal numbers of list.
(9) If no party-lists are presented in a territorial constituency, the respective mandates for that territorial constituency shall go on the national list, and shall be distributed according to the surplus votes.
(10) If the second round of election shall prove to be unsuccessful in a territorial constituency, because not even a quarter of the electorate cast their votes, then the votes cast in the first round of election shall be considered as surplus votes, and the vacant territorial constituency mandates shall be distributed on the national list.
Art.9. (1) Candidates on national lists shall obtain mandates in proportion to the national aggregates of surplus votes and in the order notified. To be counted as surplus votes are those
a) which were cast, in an individual constituency during the first valid poll, for party candidates who did not obtain a mandate during either poll;
b) which were cast for lists, in a territorial constituency during the valid poll, in a number smaller than required for mandate, or which exceeded the number of votes required for a mandate.
(2) Votes cast during an invalid poll shall not be counted as surplus votes under para. (1) and hence shall not be taken into account for purposes of obtaining mandates on the national list - except for the event of Article 8 para. (10) -. Similarly, the votes cast for the territorial lists of the party whose votes on those lists and whose national aggregate of votes do not exceed the percent limit, defined in Article 8 para. (5), of the votes cast for the territorial lists of all parties. In this respect only those nationally cast valid votes may be aggregated which were cast for the same parties - or the territorial lists of same parties presenting common or combined territorial lists -.
(3) The parties which notified the combination of their national lists at least 8 days before election shall obtain mandates in proportion to the aggregate surplus votes for their respective lists. The notification to the National Electoral Board shall also indicate the order in which their candidates are to obtain mandates. The notification shall be mode public by the National Electoral Board.
PART III
ELECTORAL PROCEDURES
Chapter IV
ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN
Art. 10. (1) Any elector may collect nomination coupons, disseminate electoral propaganda, popularize candidates and organize electoral meetings (hereafter electoral campaign). Non-citizens except for persons in possession of a permit of settlement in Hungary shall not participate in the electoral campaign.
(2) Nomination coupons may be collected anywhere, but for the provisions of para. (3), without undue interference with citizens.
(3) Nomination coupons shall not be collected
a) during working hours, in the course of performance of duties arising out of employment relations;
b) from persons pn the staff of the armed forces, the police, and other regulatory organisations, at places of service or while on duty
c) on mass transportation vehicles;
d) in wards of health-care institutes.
(4) The nomination coupon shall bear, apart from the proposer's hand-written signature, the proposing elector's place of residence, identity number, the name of the proposed candidate and the name of the party posting him, or the fact of independent candidacy.
(5) It shall be forbidden to offer, solicit or give a reward for nomination coupons.
(6) the electoral board shall, upon request, check the authenticity of signatures. Once the number of verified signatures amounts to 750, the checking of signatures shall be discontinued.
(7) Electoral meetings shall be public. It shall be forbidden to prevent the holding of electoral meetings or to disturb their conduct. The organizer of the meeting shall be responsible for keeping order in accordance with the rules laid down in the Act on the Right of Assembly.
Art. 11. (1) Until the day preceding election at the latest, Hungarian Telegraph Agency, Hungarian Radio and Hungarian Television shall carry on an equal footing the electoral calls of parties putting forward candidates at least once free of charge. This same duty shall devolve upon the local studios in their respective area of broadcast with regard to the electoral programmes of candidates. Other advertisements that go toward making a party or any of its candidates more popular can only be broadcasted with a clear message declaring such publicity as "Paid Electoral Advertising".
(2) During 30 days preceding election the Hungarian Radio and the Hungarian Television shall cover the parties presenting national lists - in their news of electoral events - on an equal footing and - in their electoral reports - in proportion to the candidates nominated.
(3) On the last day of the electoral campaign the Hungarian Radio and the Hungarian Television shall - under equal programme conditions for parties, for equal lengths of time and without comments - broadcast the electoral summary reports prepared by parties presenting national lists.
Art.l2. (1) Public opinion poll results regarding the election shall not be made public since the eighth day preceding election.
(2) No electoral campaign shall be conducted from zero hour (12:00 AM) of the day preceding election. Only the handing out of information, regarding election procedures or the impartial calls for the electorate to participate, by election work groups, may not be considered as a break of the above defined campaign silence.
Art. 13. (1) From the calling of elections to the end of electoral campaigns, parties and candidates may without a permit design electoral bills, advertisements, inscriptions, handbills or projections (hereafter posters). A poster shall be considered to be printed matter subject to no permission. In other aspects, posters shall be governed by legislation on the press.
(2) Posters may be displayed, but for paragraphs (3) to (5), without any restriction.
(3) Posters shall not be displayed on walls of buildings and on fences except with the permission of the owner or trustee.
(4) Local government may, by decree, prohibit the display of posters on certain public buildings or in specified parts of public areas for reasons of protecting historic monuments, the environment, or on grounds of townscape and tourism. The display of posters on or within buildings housing state or local government authorities is forbidden.
(5) The installation of independent advertising devices serving electoral campaign purposes shall be subject to the provisions of law on the utilization of public places.
(6) Posters shall be displayed in such a way as to be removable without causing damage.
(7) Posters prejudicing life, physical integrity, the safety of property or the order of traffic shall be removed by the police. The costs of such action shall burden the persons placing, or the persons responsible for placing these posters.
Chapter V
POLLING
Art. 14. (1) Voting shall be personal only, and, subject to the exceptions stated in this Act, it shall take place only in the polling station designated for the elector's place of residence.
(2) A handicapped voter at his/her request be visited to enable him/her to cast his/her vote by at least two members of his/her respective electoral committee.
Art. 15. (1) Votes may be cast from 6 AM on polling day. Where justified by local circumstances, the electoral board may direct that voting shall begin at 5 AM. The casting of votes shall be possible until 7 PM on official holidays and until 8 PM on workdays.
(2) During the period of voting the polling room shall not be closed and voting shall not be suspended. In the case of the number of the electoral committee's members being reduced to less than three on the day of election, those present at the polling station are obliged to suspend voting immediately, seal the ballot boxes and files, and to inform the individual constituency electoral board, through the leader of the local election work group, about the suspension of voting, in order to ensure the valid resumption of voting.
Art. 16. (1) No polling station shall be set up in a building utilised by any party.
(2) With a view to ensuring the secrecy of the ballot, at least two polling booths shall be set up in a polling room. The secrecy of the ballot shall be guaranteed even in case of voting covered by Art. 14. (2).
(3) There shall be two or more ballot boxes in every polling room. In the presence of the first voter, the ballot boxes shall be secured in such a way as to prevent the removal of ballot papers without opening the lock, breaking the seal or dismantling the box.
(4) A pen shall be provided in the polling booth for purposes of voting.
Art. 17. (1) No one except the members of the electoral committee shall stay in the polling room from the putting out of election material to the beginning of voting.
(2) The state of ballot boxes shall be checked by the electoral committee in the presence of the first voter, who shall not be a member thereof, before voting begins, with the findings to be stated in the polling records.
(3) After locking the ballot box the electoral committee shall place a check-sheet in the box, the check-sheet to bear the signatures of the members of the electoral committee present as well as of the first voter and to show the point of time it was so placed.
Art. 18. (1) The chairman of the electoral committee shall be responsible for keeping order in the polling station and its vicinity on polling day. His directives to this effect shall be binding on all.
(2) The policeman on duty shall not enter the polling room except with permission from the chairman of the electoral committee.
(3) Electors shall not stay in the polling room for a longer time than is necessary for casting a vote.
Art. 19. (1) Separate ballot papers shall be used for voting for candidates in individual constituencies and on territorial lists.
(2) Nothing but official ballot papers shall be used for voting.
(3) The ballot paper of individual constituencies shall indicate in alphabetical order the officially used names of the candidates and the names of the parties nominating them, or the fact of independent nomination. In the case of more than one candidate bearing the same name, the one whose notification reached the competent electoral board later has to distinguish him-/herself.
(4) The ballot paper for territorial lists shall contain, in the order drawn by the territorial electoral board, the designations of territorial lists and, in the order notified by the party concerned, the names of its first twenty candidates, or the fact of an eventual combination of lists.
(5) All ballot papers have to display apart from the court registered name of the party or designation, if requested by the party concerned, its abbreviation and/or the black-and-white print of its symbol or badge.
Art. 20. (1) Valid votes can only be cast by writing two intersecting lines in ink in the circle printed above the party name, and next to the name of individual candidates on the ballot paper.
(2) If it otherwise meets the conditions specified by para (1), a vote shall not b invalidated by the voter changing the order of candidates on the list on the ballot paper, striking the name of a candidate from the list or adding a name to the list.
(3) A vote shall be invalid if
a) it was cast on other than the official ballot paper, or
b) it does not permit the identification of the candidate/party for whom/which it was cast,
c) the ballot paper has not been stamped with the seal of the concerned mayor's office, or the stamp of the polling ward,
d) it was cast using a pencil.
Art. 21. (1) In the polling room votes may be cast by electors who are, or were later, entered on the electoral register.
(2) The electoral committee shall check the identity of voters and their inclusion in the electoral register.
(3) The electoral committee shall refuse to admit to the polling room any person who is unable to prove his identity to the committee's satisfaction or who, for lack of a certificate (Art. 40), cannot be entered on the electoral register. The election committee shall draw up a list of such persons. An elector who was denied admission may also cast his vote later on if he is able to prove his identity or to present a certificate as mentioned to the electoral committee before the expiry of polling time.
(4) If there is no impediment to voting, a member of the electoral committee shall hand to the voter the ballot papers bearing the seal of the mayor's office or the polling ward. If need be, it shall explain the manner in which the vote is to be cast, such explanation is not to include any canvassing for or against any candidate or list. In the case of a candidate or list being withdrawn from the election after the ballot papers have been printed, the electoral committee is obliged to notify the electors of this fact, by posting notification in the polling room, and if necessary, verbally as well.
Art. 22. (1) The elector shall cast his vote in the polling booth, put the ballot papers into an envelope and drop it into the ballot box in full view of the electoral committee.
(2) No one except the voter shall be present in the polling booth while the vote is cast, but a voter who is handicapped by illiteracy, bodily infirmity or some other disability may be assisted by another elector or, failing one, concurrently by two members of the electoral committee.
(3) The fact of voting shall be indicated by the electoral committee in the electoral register.
(4) If the elector indicates that he/she has made a mistake during the course of filling out the ballot paper, before placing it in the ballot box, the electoral committee shall withdraw it and hand out a new one, while registering this fact in its record. The electoral committee may replace the incorrect ballot paper only once.
Art. 23. (1) At 18 hours or, if polling time was prolonged, at 20 hours, the chairman of the electoral committee shall have the polling room closed, with electors still staying there or in the hall to be allowed to cast their votes. This done, the electoral committee shall end the voting process.
(2) No votes shall be accepted after the voting has ended.
Art. 24. (1) After the voting has ended the electoral committee shall first bundle the unused, then the incorrect ballot papers, and then seal up the bundles.
(2) Before being dismantled, the ballot box shall be checked for intactness, then be dismantled and be checked for the presence of check-sheet.
(3) The numbers of the ballot papers in the box for individual constituencies and for lists shall then be compared separately with the number of voters in the polling ward.
(4) As a next step, invalid votes shall be grouped separately and counted, with the ground for invalidity to be indicated on the back of the ballot paper. The invalid votes shall be bundled separately, and the bundle shall be sealed up in such a way as to prevent any ballot paper being taken out of, or put into, the bundle without damaging the seal. The ordinal number of the polling ward and the number of ballot papers in the bundle shall be marked on the bundle.
(5) The valid votes shall be grouped separately by candidate and list and be counted, the bundling to be done afterwards in accordance with para. (4).
Art. 25. (1) The electoral committee shall prepare records, separately for every type of ballot paper, about the counting of the votes. At least one original has to be drawn up, which shall be signed by the present members of the committee. The necessary copies of the original records may be made by making photocopies. The copies have to be authenticated by the chairman or the secretary of the electoral committee.
(2) The records shall be drwn up in at least three more copies than the number of candidates running for election in the constituency, and the number of parties presenting territorial lists therein.
(3) The chairman of the electoral committee shall, without delay, forward the original records and one copy of them to the electoral board of the individual and territorial constituency. The third copy of the records shall be sent to the competent archive after 30 days of the date of election. The remaining copies shall be presented to the representatives of the candidates of individual constituencies and of the parties having presented lists. Election documents, prints and ballot papers shall, together with the ballot boxes, be sent to the local mayor's office for safekeeping. In case of objections to the election documents and ballot papers, those concerned shall be transmitted to the competent electoral board.
(4) On the basis of the records of the electoral committee, the electoral boards of individual and territorial constituencies shall aggregate the votes and establish the election results in the respective constituencies. A record of this procedure shall be drawn up by the electoral boards in two more copies than the number of lists or candidates presented for election. The record shall be signed by the members of the electoral board. The original, along with the original records of the electoral committee, has to be forwarded without delay to the National Electoral Board, a second copy to the archives, not later than thirty days after election, the remaining ones promptly to the representatives of the parties or to the candidates.
(5) On the basis of the records of the electoral boards in individual and territorial constituencies, the National Electoral Board shall aggregate the surplus votes cast for party candidates in individual constituencies and for lists, shall establish the limit percentage defined in Article 8 para. (5), and shall decide which candidates have obtained mandates on the national list. It shall draw up a record thereof in one more copy than the number of parties having presented national lists. The record shall be signed by the members of the Board. The first of these records shall be forwarded, not later than thirty days after election, to the archives, the remaining copies shall be handed over promptly to the representatives of parties.
(6) Within three workdays following the date of election, candidates or their representatives may inspect the voting documents on the official premises of the electoral board or the local government in the presence of two members of the electoral board. The right to inspect election documents does not include the electorate register used by the electoral committee on the day of election, nor the list of electors refused the chance to vote, or who have voted in the possession of a certificate, from all of which it is possible to establish the names of electors having participated in the election.
(7) The ballot papers shall be filed in the presence of the members of the competent electoral body and be kept in safety for 90 days. In case objections concerning election results the ballot papers involved shall be kept in safety until a final ruling thereon has been handed down.
(8) The National Electoral Board shall be responsible to ensure that the computerized election data are kept in safety for 90 days.
(9) The Minister of Interior may, by decree, regulate the number of additional copies, over the numbers set in para. (3)-(6) of this Act, of election records and registers and order their forwarding.
Chapter VI
ELECTORAL BODIES
Art. 26. Electoral bodies are independent organizations of citizens, subject only to the law and primarily established to guarantee the purity of elections, to secure impartiality, to supervise legality and, where necessary, to restore the lawful conduct of elections.
Art. 27. The electoral bodies shall include electoral committees, electoral boards in individual and territorial constituencies, and the National Electoral Board.
Art. 28. (1) Only electors having residence in a given constituency may serve on electoral bodies.
(2) The chairman and secretary of electoral bodies may not be a member of any party presenting a candidate in the constituency, nor a representative of an independent candidate.
(3) A candidate, a relative of the candidate defined according to the Act on the General Regulations of Administration Procedures, the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, ministers, secretaries of state, deputy secretaries of state, trustees of the Republic, Lord Mayor, mayors, head notaries, notaries, Speakers of County Assemblies, and members of the work-group functioning alongside the electoral body shall not serve on the electoral body. Persons being in a relationship with each other may not be members of those electoral bodies which may become involved in decision making, or decision overruling procedures between each other during the course of the legal redress process.
(4) During its period of functioning the electoral body shall qualify as a public authority and its members as official persons.
Art. 29. (1) An electoral body shall function as a collegiate one. In order to be valid, its decision shall require the presence of the majority of its members and the votes of the majority of the members present. In the event of an equality of votes the chairman of the electoral body shall have a casting vote. Minority views, together with the arguments, shall also be put on records.
(2) The electoral body shall be represented by its chairman. If there is no chairman or the chairman is unable to perform his duties, the secretary shall act as chairman.
Art. 30. (1) The secretary and two members of the electoral committee plus at least one additional member for each polling ward shall be elected by the local government assembly; on motion of the notary, taking into account the proposals of the parties as well. The party putting forward candidates in the constituency and the independent candidates shall designate an additional member each. Members may also be designated jointly by parties and independent candidates. If after the nomination the number of designated members is short of two, the additional member shall be elected by the local government, or its designated committee having its authorization.
(2) The secretary and two members of local and territorial electoral boards shall be elected by the metropolitan and county assemblies; on motion by the head-notary, taking into account the proposals of the parties as well. The party putting forward candidates in the individual and territorial constituencies and the independent candidates shall designate an additional member each, after the nomination. If after the nomination the number of designated members falls short of two, then the metropolitan or county assemblies shall amend the electoral board to five persons by electing additional members. The assembly may authorize one of its committees to perform this task.
(3) The secretary and four members of the National Electoral Board shall be elected by Parliament on motion by the Minister of the Interior, taking into account the proposals of parties as well. The parties putting forward candidates on the national lists shall designate an additional member each. If after the nomination the number of designated members of the National Electoral Board falls short of four, the Constitutional, Legislation-preparation and Judicial Committee of Parliament shall elect additional members, to raise the number of the members of the National Electoral Committee to nine.
(4) The elective members of electoral boards shall be elected within 10 days of the calling of elections and those of electoral committees at least 30 days before election. The designated members of electoral bodies shall be notified concurrently with the presentation of nominations (Art. 6).
(5) The electoral body shall elect a chairman from among its own members. On the thirtieth day preceding election the electoral body shall either confirm the chairman or elect a new one.
(6) Before taking up their duties the chairmen and members of electoral bodies shall swear an oath or pledge a vow before the competent mayor, Lord Mayor, Speaker of County Assembly, or the Speaker of Parliament, as the case may be.
(7) The names of the chairmen and members of electoral bodies as well as the addresses of the official premises of the electoral bodies shall be publicly displayed in the customary manner in each locality, and the names of the members of the individual and territorial electoral boards shall be published in the official gazettes of the metropolitan and county assemblies, while the data of the National Electoral Board shall be published in Magyar Közlöny (Hungarian Gazette).
(8) The mandates of the elective members of electoral bodies as well as of the members delegated to the National Electoral Board by the parties having obtained representation in Parliament shall last until the day when the next general elections are called.
(9) The mandates of the chairman, secretary and members of an electoral body shall cease upon
a) discontinuance of the legal conditions therefore (paragraphs (1) to (3) of Art. 28);
b) resignation;
c) revocation of the mandate or removal from office; d) death.
(10) The mandate of a designated member of an electoral body shall terminate also at the time of the publication of final election results, except for para (8). No fees shall be paid.
(11) The National Electoral Board may publish an opinion in order to ensure the uniform execution of this Act.
Art. 31. The electoral boards in individual and territorial constituencies and the National Electoral Board shall be legal entities.
Art. 32. (1) The electoral committee shall consist of at least three members.
(2) The electoral committee shall
a) control the preparation of polling rooms, conduct the poll and ensure the legality of voting;
b) decide contentious issues arising during the voting; c) establish the voting results in the polling ward.
Art. 33.(1) Electoral boards in individual and territorial constituencies shall consist of at least 5 members each.
(2) The electoral board of an individual constituency shall;
a) issue a call for the nomination of candidates;
b) keep records of the candidates and refuse to accept any nomination failing to satisfy the legal requirements;
c) decide on objections to nomination coupons and to voting in possession of a certificate;
d) publish the names of candidates in the constituency and of the sponsoring parties as well as the fact of independent nomination;
e) ensure the legal conditions for the functioning of electoral committees and check on physical facilities;
f) establish the voting results in the constituency;
g) decide on objections raised to measures of electoral committees;
h) issue credential to MPs;
i) organize by-elections and publish the results thereof.
(3) The electoral board of a territorial constituency shall, in connection with election on territorial lists,
a) attend to the tasks specified by para. (2) except for those mentioned in para. 2(c) and (e);
b) draw lots for the ordinal numbers of party lists.
Art. 34. (1) The National Electoral Board shall consist of at least 9 members.
(2) The National Electoral Board shall
a) ensure the legal conditions for the functioning of electoral bodies;
b) issue a call for the notification of nominations; c) keep records of the candidates on national lists and refuse to accept nominations failing to satisfy the legal requirements;
d) publish the names of candidates on national lists and draw lots for the ordinal numbers of lists;
e) decide which of the candidates on national lists have obtained mandates on the basis of the national aggregate of surplus votes;
f) issue credentials to MPs having obtained mandates on national lists;
g) publish the preliminary and final results of parliamentary elections;
h) fix the dates of a second poll and by-election;
i) decide on objections raised to decisions of electoral boards;
j) report on the election of MPs to the Parliament.
Art. 35. (1) There shall be assigned work groups to electoral bodies to take care of the organizational, administrative and technical preparations as well as of the conduct of elections.
(2) Members of the workgroup to the electoral committee shall be appointed by the village, town or metropolitan district notaries (notary henceforth), members of the workgroup functioning to the electoral boards of individual and territorial constituencies will be appointed by the head-notary of the metropolitan and county assemblies, the chairman and members of the work group functioning beside the National Electoral Board shall be appointed by the Minister of the Interior. The chairman of the work group functioning beside electoral boards in individual constituencies shall be the district notary of the seat of the respective constituency, the chairman of the work group functioning to the electoral boards in territorial constituencies shall be the head notary of the metropolitan or county assembly.
(3) On their appointment the members of work groups shall swear an oath/pledge a vow before the appointer.
Chapter VII
POLLING WARDS
Art. 36. (1) Polling wards shall be set up within 10 days of the calling of elections.
(2) The number and territorial pattern of polling wards shall be determined by the notary in a way that shall ensure that a polling ward is created for 600 to a maximum of 1 200 voters, but there shall be at least one polling ward in each settlement. More polling wards than one in a settlement shall be distinguished by ordinal numbers. A polling ward may also be created in an institute to ensure that persons committed to permanent care or receiving medical treatment as well as rank-and-file soldiers and persons detained without a final judgement may, at their request, cast their votes in possession of a certificate (Art. 40).
Chapter VIII
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
Art. 37. (1) The registry of voters (registry henceforth) shall, according to villages, towns and constituencies, and polling wards therein, be compiled by the village, town and metropolitan notaries, by the 15th December each year at the latest. The registry shall be notified of any changes before the first and second rounds of election.
(2) Citizens of Hungary who are resident, or temporarily resident (have place of residence henceforth) in a village, town or a district of the capital (settlement henceforth), or in an individual constituency, and will reach their majority or will be majorized by marriage on the day of election at the latest, shall be entered in the register.
(3) The notary shall prepare, within 27 days the written notification of electors' inclusion in the register, as well as compile a list of adults who do not have the franchise after the setting of the date of election. The electoral register shall be such as to allow the identification of the settlement, the individual and territorial constituency, the polling ward of the elector. The electoral register shall imply, with the limitations specified in para. (9), the elector's name, address and identification number. The register shall be authenticated by the notary.
(4) Sixty days before election the local electoral board shall issue a public notification of the date of election and the electoral register.
(5) The register, after its compilation, shall be displayed on the official premises of the mayor' s of f ice of the local government, for the purpose of the ensuring of franchise being controllable, for ten days and the date of display shall be made public in the manner customary in the locality.
(6) Concurrent with the public display, preceding the first round of election, electors shall be notified in writing of their inclusion in the register, the notification shall indicate the settlement, the constituency, the polling ward, the address of the polling station, and the day of election. The mailing of the notification is a responsibility of the notary. Notification of the second round shall not be mailed.
(7) The notary shall compile the electoral register on the basis of the citizens' personal data and address register. The compilation of the electoral register and the technical preparation of notifications may be transferred by the notary to another local government's notary, to the territorial or central body maintaining the register of the citizens' personal data and address, or to the employees of the mayor's office. The notifications may be sent to the electors through the employees of the mayor's office, or through the mail. Delivery of notifications shall not be entrusted to party leaders, or members of any parties.
(8) The register of the persons without the franchise is confidential, no one, save the person in question, a court-of-law, and members of the electoral body and work group, may look into them.
(9) The electoral register that has been put on display and the notifications may not display the electors' identification number.
(10) The National Bureaux of Registry of Personal Data and Address shall, thirty days prior to election, may, upon the request of parties, on an equal footing, and for a charge, hand over the electoral registry. In the case of individual candidates, with the same conditions as above, the notary may hand over the electoral register. All interested parties who have the potential to view the electoral register during the election process shall only utilise its contents for their election campaigns.
Art. 37/A. (1) For compiling of the electoral register, within six days after the setting of the date of election, the bodies indicated in subparas a) to c) shall hand over the data according to para.
(2) about persons who do not have the franchise, to the local government of the constituencies taking part in the election and its notary, through the bodies maintaining citizens' registers, according to the following:
Art. 38. (1) During public display of the electoral register, objections may be raised before the notary in case of the elector's exclusion or inclusion in the electoral register.
(2) Rejection of the objection may be referred to the district court, in Budapest the Central District Court, within three days of it's receipt.
( 3 ) The court shall decide the issue with the participation of people's assesors within three days of receiving it, through extra-judicial proceedings. Before handing down its decision, the court shall at request, grant audience to every interested party. If unfounded, the objection shall be rejected, or, if founded, the correction of the register shall be ordered by the court. No further appeal shall lie against the court's decision.
(4) The court shall notify its decision, on the day it is handed down, to the notary, and to the person who has raised the objection. If the court orders the name of a person to be stricken off the register, the decision shall be notified to that person as well.
Art. 39. (1) Electors omitted from the register shall be entered on it ex post by the notary, a notification shall be sent to the elector concerned.
(2) The notary shall strike off the register the name of an elector who has died in the meantime, has lost his/her franchise, has been included in the register of another constituency or is to vote in possession of a certificate in another constituency.
(3) The register thus modified shall be displayed publicly in the official premises of the electoral body until 4 PM on the day preceding the date of election.
Art. 40. (1) If after the compilation of the register an elector changes his/her domicile, he may apply to the notary of the competent local government in his new place of residence, or, on election day, to the electoral committee for his inclusion in the electoral register. The application shall be accompanied by a certificate of the applicant’s inclusion in the electoral register of his former place of residence from the notary of the competent local government.
(2) An elector who, on election day, is absent from his permanent place of residence may, in possession of a franchise certificate from the notary of the local government in his/her domicile, apply to the notary of the local government in his temporary place of residence, or, on election day, to the electoral committee for his inclusion in the electoral register of that area.
(3) In possession of a certificate under para. (2) an elector may vote for a candidate in an individual, as well as a territorial constituency.
(4) When issuing a certificate under para. (1) and (2) the notary of the competent local government shall strike the elector's name from the register. On the basis of the elector's declaration the certificate shall show the place of residence or sojourn, where the elector intends to vote, and that place shall also be indicated in the register. On the basis of the certificate and of his/her identity card, the elector shall be entered on a separate register by the notary of the local government, or by the electoral committee in his/her new place of residence or sojourn. The certificate shall be kept among the electoral documents.
(5) A certificate may be applied for by, and issued to the applicant or his/her representative, until 4 PM on the day preceding the date of election. The certificate may be requested through Registered Mail, providing that this shall arrive on the fifth day preceding election at the latest. The new place of residence or place of sojourn where the elector proposes to cast votes has to be declared in this letter. A certificate applied for in the mail has to be posted to the applicant C.O.D. in a manner so the applicant shall receive it on the day preceding the date of election at the latest.
(6) The National Electoral Board shall control the data of the electors taken into separate registration on the basis of their certificate, in order to preclude the chance of multiple balloting.
(7) The applicant for certificate shall be obliged to reveal his personal identification number.
Chapter IX
PUBLICITY OF ELECTORAL PROCEDURES
Art. 41. (1) The functioning and activity of electoral bodies shall be public. The facts and figures available to electoral bodies shall not be classified material. Publicity of the election process shall not violate the confidentiality of ballot, nor personal and personal data rights. The computerised figures for election results shall be made available, on an equal footing, to independent candidates and to the parties having put forward candidates for election.
(2) The electoral board shall release information about the calling of election, the names of candidates, the public display of the electoral register, the pattern of constituencies and polling wards, the members of electoral bodies, the day and manner of voting, the election results or the eventual cancellation thereof for the press in the constituency concerned and for the local broadcasting studio.
(3) The electoral bodies shall be responsible to ensure that electors receive general information on the provisions of electoral law and the manner of voting as well as answers to their relevant questions.
(4) Representatives of the press may, without a special permit, attend the work of electoral bodies, but shall not disturb them in carrying out their activities, especially the counting of votes.
(5) No partial figures of election results shall be released before the closing of ballots on the day of election. The publication of the number and ratio of electors does not constitute partial figures.
(6) The amount and utilisation of state provided and other financial resources and contributions shall, also in national aggregate figures, be published in the national press by each candidate and party.
Chapter X
LEGAL REMEDIES
Art. 42. (1) The electors, candidates and parties may raise objections to violations of the electoral law, or to the activity, measures, decisions or omissions of electoral bodies. Objection may be raised before the competent electoral committee either verbally or in written form, by the third day, at the latest, following the incident (event) in question. Concurrent with the raising of objection, an appeal of proof has to be initiated. An objection that was raised without the initiation of an appeal of proof shall be rejected without due examination.
(2) Objections to decisions of electoral committees (Art. 32 para. (2)) shall be decided by the competent electoral board, within three days. Objections to decisions of the electoral board, except for those mentioned in para. (2) subpara. f) of Art. 33 may be appealed to the metropolitan and county courts of law.
Art. 43. (1) An objection raised against the decision of the electoral board concerning election results (Art 33, para. (2), subpara. f) ) shall be judged by the National Electoral Board within three days.
(2) An appeal against a decision of the National Electoral Board may be made to the Supreme Court.
Art. 44. (1) An application for legal remedy against a negative decision of an electoral board may be submitted, not later than 3 days from receipt of the notification, to the electoral board, which shall, not later than the day following its submission, refer it, together with the documents and its views, to the competent court. The court, to form a panel of three professional judges, shall hand down a ruling in extra-judicial proceedings within 3 days. The person concerned shall be heard if he so requests.
(2) If it deems the application for a legal remedy to be founded, the court shall establish the fact of violation of law and
a) inform the parties concerned and Hungarian Telegraphic Agency, or
b) alter the decision breaking the law, or
c) annul completely or in part the decision, and orders the election process or a part of it to be repeated.
(3) The court shall reject an application if deemed unfounded.
(4) The court shall notify its decision on the day it is handed down, to the electoral board, the person concerned, and the applicant for legal remedy. No further appeal shall lie against the decision of the court.
Art. 45. A proceeding conducted under this Chapter shall not affect the proceedings instituted under Art. 38 and on grounds of an offence against the orderly conduct of elections (Art. 211 of the Penal Code).
Chapter XI
BY-ELECTIONS
Art. 46. (1) A by-election shall be held in an individual constituency if the second poll were to be invalid, or the mandate of an MP in an individual constituency has been ceased.
(2) By-elections may not be held in the year of general elections. By-election shall be posted by the National Electoral Board at least 90 days preceding the date of it, once every year, in the month of April. Notification of the necessity of by-election to the National Electoral Board shall be given by the competent electoral board, or the Speaker of Parliament.
(3) The rules of general elections shall, with the differences made in this Chapter, apply, mutatis mutandis, to by-elections.
(4) The results of a by-election shall not affect the mandates on the national lists.
(5) In cases where the mandate of an MP on a territorial or a national list has ceased, it shall be obtained, among the party candidates originally included on the lists, by the persons named by the party concerned. Within 30 days of the emergence of the reason therefore, the party shall notify the name of the new MP to the competent electoral board.
Chapter XII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Art. 47. (1). Following the registration (Art. 6 (4), candidates shall not be called up for military service regular or reserve, or their service shall be interrupted until the day following election. Elected MPs shall be exempted from service for the period of their mandate.
(2) In the course of the employment of this Act, place of residence shall mean the terms defined in Art. 5. Act LXVI. 1992 on the Registering of Citizens' Personal Data and Address.
Art. 48. (1) Within 24 hours of the ending of voting, the National Electoral Board shall make the preliminary election results public through the Hungarian Radio, the Hungarian Television and the Hungarian Telegraphic Agency, and on that basis the preliminary results shall be carried by the political dailies of nation-wide circulation in their next issues.
(2) The final election results shall be published in Magyar Közlöny.
Art. 49. Elections shall be called not later than 90 days before polling day.
Art. 50. (1) The expenses incurred in connection with state tasks concerning the preparation and conduct of elections (personnel, physical facilities, functioning of electoral bodies, electoral registers, prints, transport, telecommunication, etc.) shall be covered from the state budget to the extent determined by the Parliament. The State Audit Office shall inform the Parliament of the utilization of such funds.
(2) The Council of Ministers shall be empowered to determine the ordinal numbers, seats and boundaries of individual and territorial constituencies.
Art. 51. (1) The parties may spend funds for elections in accordance with the Act on the Functioning and Finances of Political Parties, subject to the additional provisions of para. (2) hereof.
(2) Each party putting forward candidates for election shall be entitled to support from the state budget in proportion to the number of candidates presented. Independent candidates shall be entitled to an amount of budgetary support equal to that received by party candidates. The national aggregate of funds destined for budgetary support shall be determined by the Parliament.
(3) The number of candidates in individual constituencies, the number of candidates presented by each party on territorial lists but not greater than that of the mandates obtainable, and the actual number of candidates on national lists but not more than 58 candidates of each party shall be taken as a basis for determining the amount of support per candidate. Persons nominated at several places under Art. 5 (7) shall be taken into account with the number of nominations.
(4) The budgetary support for election purposes shall be paid in one amount to parties, and personally to independent candidates, by the Ministry of Finance or the bank designated by it under the authorization of the National Electoral Board.
(5) Budgetary support under para. (2) shall be used to cover material expenses only. Accounts of the utilization of support shall be made by parties and independent candidates to the pay-office within 30 days after election.
(6) Budget-dependent state and local government organs may make premises and equipment available on an equal footing for purposes of electoral campaign. It is prohibited to conduct electoral campaigning or campaign meetings in buildings housing state or local government bodies, except in settlements with less than 500 inhabitants where there are not any other community buildings available.
Art. 52. The Schedules to this Act shall determine
a) the principles governing the establishment of constituencies;
b) the number of individual constituencies in the counties and the capital city as well as the number of mandates obtainable in each territorial constituency;
c) the number of candidates in individual constituencies required for the presentation of a territorial list;
d) the procedures for the aggregation of votes and the establishment of election results;
e) the specimens of ballot papers;
f) the specimens of nomination coupons, certificates and check-sheets;
g) the contents of records of election results in polling wards as well as in individual and territorial constituencies;
h) the contents of records showing the national aggregate surplus votes;
i) the contents of records showing the national preliminary results of elections;
j ) the text of the oath to be sworn (or vow to be pledged) by electoral bodies and members of electoral work groups.
k) the organizing and operating principles of computer and information services cooperating in the conduct of elections.
Art. 53. (1) The Minister of the Interior shall determine by decree on the basis of this Act:
a) the calendar time-limits and deadlines of the election procedure;
b) the tasks of the work groups functioning beside electoral bodies and the training of their members;
c) the state tasks relating to election, the organisation, the technical realisation of computer assisted aggregation of votes, the order of its effectuating, the order of aggregation and transportation of the records containing final election results;
d) the specimen of the registers of candidates and electors and their notification; the specimen of election documents and printed matter; the specimen of printed matter to contain the data of partial results and national final results of election;
e) the norms, rates and order of accounting of election costs.
(2) The Minister of the Interior shall report to the Parliament on the performance of these tasks.
(3) The deadlines determined in this Act for legal remedying, furthermore the announcement of individual candidates, territorial and national lists, and also the ratio of the division of surplus votes shall be forfeit of law.
(4) The Minister of the Interior is hereby authorized to set a deadline on the first workday preceding or following a weekend, in case of a deadline or time-limit falling on a weekend.
(5) Fulfilment of deadlines determined by this Act shall be at 4 PM on the specified day, unless otherwise decreed in this Act.
Art. 54. Electoral, administrative and judicial proceedings connected with elections and the franchise shall be free of charge.
Art. 55. (1) The professional activity of work groups functioning beside electoral bodies shall be controlled by the Minister of the Interior through the head of national or territorial electoral work group.
(2) The head of national, territorial and local electoral work groups is authorised to hand out informative data about the election on its day, and the day after.
Art. 56. (1) This act shall enter into force on the day of its promulgation.
(2) The provisions of Act III of 1983 concerning MPs, as amended by Act XI of 1989 on the Election of MPs and Councillors shall cease to have effect upon the entry into force of this Act.
(3) The pattern of constituencies for by-elections to be held before the general election for MPs shall be governed by Decision No. 1/1985 of the Presidential Council of the People's Republic on the Election of MPs and Councillors in 1985.