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Decree 34/2002. (XII. 23.) of the Minister of the
Interior
on the implementation of Act C of 1997 on Electoral Procedure
at national referendum and national popular initiative
On the grounds of the authorisation provided for in clauses a) and c)-f) paragraph (1) of Article 153 of Act C of 1997 on Electoral Procedure (hereinafter referred t as the Procedural Law), I shall order the following:
Part I
NATIONAL REFERENDUM
Chapter I
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF ELECTION OFFICES
1. § (1) The election offices shall be
responsible for preparing and conducting the national referendum
in terms of organisation, management, Information Technology,
pursuant to the provisions set forth under this Decree.
(2) The election offices shall
a) be responsible for the
organisation of the preparation and completion of the
referendum;
b) contribute to performing
tasks related to the accounting and internal supervision of
electoral monetary assets determined under a special decree;
c) arrange for informing voters
through the election information services and perform other
information tasks;
d) carry out administration and
IT pilot runs related tasks. The election offices that take part in the pilot
runs shall be appointed by the head of the National Election
Office (hereinafter referred to as NEO);
e) contribute to aggregating
ballots, ascertaining the result of the referendum;
f) operate the computer systems necessary for completing the referendum;
g) provide the material,
technical conditions required for the operation of the election
bodies and the completion of the voting, if necessary, arrange for supplementing election
committees, electing new members;
h) arrange for the training of
the members of the election bodies;
i) carry out the secretarial
tasks of the election committees, prepare the matters falling
within the competence of the election committees for decision
making;
j) immediately forward reserves
submitted to the election office operating beside the election
committee entitled to adjudge issues, and to the court,
k) arrange for the management,
secure guarding, transfer to the archives and annihilation of the
electoral documents.
(3) The computer system of the election is based on the administrative
network of the Ministry of the Interior, the Central Data
Processing, Registration and Election Office of the MI
(hereinafter referred to as “CO MI”), the computer park of the
administrative offices and records offices. The IT tasks shall be
carried out under the IT control of CO MI with the contribution of
the above listed agencies and bodies. The computer system of the
referendum is run by CO MI with the contribution of the
administrative offices. It is the head of the election office that
shall make decisions, in agreement with the head of CO MI,
regarding the use of the computers to provide information not
connected to the administrative network of MI.
(4) At the time of national referendum, the local
election office of each settlement operating a records office
(hereinafter referred to as LEO) shall carry out computerised data
processing.
(5) The head of LEO shall decide whether to use
computer to develop the register.
(6) At the written request of the head of the LEO
operating the records office, the head of TEO may allow the LEO
not to use computer to check data sheets, electoral district
minutes (computer checking system), or to aggregate electoral
district data in order to report the turnout at the referendum
during the day.
LOCAL ELECTION OFFICE
2. § An independent local election office will operate at each settlement. At
settlements that belong to a District Recorder’s office, the
responsibilities of the LEO will be completed by the LEO of the
seat settlement.
The responsibilities of the local election office related to the initiation of the referendum
3. § The LEO shall pursuant to the resolution of the National Election
Committee (hereinafter referred to as NEC), in compliance with the
provisions set forth therein, contribute to checking the identity
of the voters that sign the signature-collecting sheet.
The responsibilities of the local election office during the period prior to the day of voting
4. § (1) The LEO shall
a) publish an announcement on the date the register is displayed in public,
and displays the register in public;
b) inform voters by sending them an information notice on the date, time
and place of voting, and that they have been entered into the
register;
c) perform the tasks related to the certificate;
d) receive the notification of the members delegated to the ballot counting
committees (hereinafter referred to as BCC), arrange for their
administration of an oath, publish the way it is customary locally
the names of the members of BCC and the head of LEO as well as the
address of the offices of LEO;
e) organise voting with mobile
ballot-boxes for voters hindered in movement;
f) arrange for receiving the
central printed matters at the place and time determined by the
territorial election office (hereinafter referred to as TEO),
fulfilling the management tasks related to these;
g) arrange for
producing printed matters to be made locally;
h) receive the transport boxes
assembled centrally for each electoral district; check their
content; place the closed envelopes containing the password and
ensure that they are preserved until the day of voting;
i) until the day of voting, enter the electoral district identification
number on the data sheets and minutes;
j) on the day prior to voting,
prepare and deliver with notice of receipt to the chairmen of the
BCC’s or their deputies the printed matters, documents and
stamps necessary for completing the voting;
k) ensure the technical
conditions required for voting, and the equipment in the polling
stations.
(2) The head of the LEO shall
a) arrange to compile,
continuously maintain the register, produce notices on having been
entered into the register, and to maintain the list containing
citizens of legal age not having right of vote;
b) make decision regarding
reserves because of having been omitted from or entered into the
register;
c) enter voters who want to vote
with a certificate into the register;
d) maintain the list of the
citizens entered into the register on the grounds of the
certificate as well as the citizens deleted from the register on
the grounds of the certificate;
e) on the grounds of claims
announced, against payment of a fee, deliver a copy of the
register publicly displayed to the claimant;
f) organise the forwarding and
processing of reports, data sheets and electoral district minutes
made during the day, taking the provisions of the heads of
parliamentary single mandate constituency election office
(hereinafter referred to as PSCEO) and TEO into consideration.
The responsibilities of the local election office on the day of voting
5. § (1) The Keeper of the Minutes
acting beside the BCC shall
a) contribute to properly
equipping the polling station (e.g., installing polling booths
according to rules; closing ballot-boxes properly, etc.);
b) arrange to maintain the
register, and the list of those refused, the list of those asking
for mobile ballot-box and the list of the citizens entered into
the register on the grounds of a certificate;
c) supply data to the
information system running during the day;
d) forward the minutes made out
about extraordinary events occurred during voting to the head of
LEO;
e) fill in the data sheets and
contribute to filling in minutes and transporting them as well as
other electoral documents to the seat of LEO.
(2) The LEO shall
a) provide the conditions
required for the operation of the BCC and the legality of the
voting,
forward
reserves submitted against decisions of the LEO to the TEO;
b) arrange to receive, aggregate
and forward data arriving from electoral districts, and ensure the
operation of the technical equipment necessary for carrying out
these tasks;
c) receive data sheets, and
electoral district minutes, check and arrange to forward them,
furthermore, if it operates a records office at the settlement,
perform entry of data into the computer.
The responsibilities of the local election office on the day after voting
6. § The LEO shall
a) arrange for safe storage and forwarding of the minutes and other
election documents received from BCC;
b) the latest on the day following the day of voting, process the electoral
district minutes or forward them to be processed in compliance
with the orders of the heads of TEO and PSCEO;
c) arrange to ensure that electoral district minutes can be inspected and
safe storage of minutes and other election documents.
PARLIAMENTARY SINGLE MANDATE CONSTITUENCY ELECTION OFFICE
7. § (1) The LEO of the settlement
operating a records office designated, in agreement with the heads
of PSCEO and LEO, by the head of the TEO, shall fulfil the
responsibilities and competence determined under this Decree for
the PSCEO’s. The area of competence of such LEO’s shall be
determined by the head of the TEO, who shall inform the head of
the NEO about this.
(2) The LEO of the settlement operating a records office shall fulfil the
tasks with regard to its own settlement prescribed by the
PSCEO’s for it.
(3) In he capital the area of competence of PSCEO shall coincide with the
area of the district in which its seat is located.
The responsibilities of
the parliamentary single mandate constituency election office
during the period prior to the day of voting
8. § In addition to the responsibilities set forth in Article 3 and 4 of the
Decree, the PSCEO shall as a further task covering its area of
competence carry out the prescribed data processing and data
forwarding tasks.
The responsibilities of the parliamentary single mandate constituency election office on the day of voting
9. § In addition to the responsibilities set forth in paragraph (2) of
Article 5 of the Decree, the PSCEO shall as a further task
covering its area of competence
a) process the data of reports made during the day;
b) fulfil the prescribed data
processing and data forwarding tasks under the ballot aggregating
system;
c) arrange to prevent
disturbances, emergencies hindering the aggregation of ballots;
see to it, when necessary, that the alternate solutions stipulated
for emergencies are applied, and inform the heads of TEO and LEO
about such actions.
The responsibilities of the parliamentary single mandate constituency election office after the day of voting
10. § In addition to the responsibilities set forth under Article 6 of the
Decree, the PSCEO shall as a further task, the latest on the day
after the voting, receive the electoral district minutes of the
settlements located in its area of competence, and process them
the latest before the due date determined by the head of TEO, or
check whether they have been processed.
TERRITORIAL ELECTION OFFICE
11. § (1) The head of the TEO may in writing transfer control of the
activities of the LEO’s, determined under this Decree, that are
subject to the area of competence of the PSCEO, and the
supervision of the fulfilment of their responsibilities to the
head of the PSCEO.
(2) The TEO shall fulfil the electoral IT tasks with
the contribution of the civil servants of the administrative
office, who carry out these tasks as members of the TEO.
The responsibilities of the territorial election office during the period prior to the day of voting
12. § (1) The TEO shall
a) receive the notification of the members delegated to the territorial
election committee, arrange for their administration of an oath,
publish the way it is customary locally the name of the members of
the territorial election office and the head of the TEO, and the
address of offices of the TEO;
b) contribute through the administrative office to installing the computers
and their programs, help to operate them, monitor the operation of
the computer network between the PSCEO’s, other settlements
linked to the administrative network of the MI and the TEO.
(2) The head of the TEO shall
a) control and check the activity of PSCEO’s and LEO’s;
b) determine the order of distributing central printed materials;
c) issue its directive on the
rules of implementation of forwarding and processing minutes,
which allows that the processing of minutes can be completed
before 2:00 p.m. on the day after voting;
d) supervise the organisation of
forwarding and processing data sheets and minutes, identify the
venue of data processing to be operated to replace a records
office falling out in the event of emergency.
The responsibilities of the territorial election office on the day of voting
13. § The TEO shall
a) supervise the operation of the system of reports made during the day and
the ballot aggregating system;
b) arrange to prevent
disturbances, emergencies hindering data processing; see to it,
when necessary, that alternate solutions are applied, and inform
the head of NEO about such actions;
c) inform the public through the
central information system.
The responsibilities of the territorial election office after the day of voting
14. § The TEO shall fulfil the duties related to receiving minutes and
forwarding them to the NEO.
NATIONAL ELECTION OFFICE
The responsibilities of the National Election Office regarding the initiation of the referendum
15. § (1) The NEO shall
a) arrange to publish the NEO’s decision on the attestation of the
signature-collecting sheet in the Hungarian Gazette;
b) forward reserves submitted against the NEO’s decision on the question
to be put in the referendum, and the attestation of the
signature-collecting sheet, and the checking of the signatures to
the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court;
c) when submitting the initiative, and in the event determined in paragraph
(1) Article 118/A of the Procedural Law, arrange for receipt and
safe storage of the signature-collecting sheets submitted in a
closed package. Minutes shall be taken of the receipt;
d) by applying statistical and mathematical methods, if necessary by
examining signatures item by item, supply data to the NEC to
ascertain the number of the signatures that can be considered
valid;
e) pursuant to the NEC’s decision, contribute to checking the identity of
the voters that have signed the signature-collecting sheet;
f) pursuant to Article 121 of the Procedural Law, arrange to annihilate the
signature-collecting sheets, and take minutes thereof.
(2) The head of NEO
a) after the NEC’s decision on the attestation of the
signature-collecting sheet has entered into effect, deliver the
signature-collecting sheet with the attestation clause applied to
it (sample 6 in Appendix 5) to the initiator. The attestation
clause shall contain the number of the NEC’s resolution, the day
when the resolution enters into effect as date, the signature of
the head of the NEO and the print of its stamp;
b) in the event determined in paragraph (2) of Article 118/A of the
Procedural Law , on the day the prohibitive period expires, apply
a new attestation clause to the other specimen of the
signature-collecting sheet, being equal in content and form to the
specimen previously attested.
The responsibilities of the National Election Office during the period prior to the day of voting
16. § The NEO shall
a) accept the notification of the members delegated to the NEC, arrange for
their administration of an oath, publish the name of the members
of the NEC and the head of the NEO, and the address of the offices
of NEO in the Hungarian Gazette;
b) produce professional information brochures, guides, hold professional
meetings, arrange nationwide training programs;
c) organise management and technical pilot runs;
d) carry out tasks related to informing voters on national level;
e) determine the order of reporting and checking with regard to carrying
out each task;
f) arrange for the production and transportation of the central printed
matters necessary for the referendum;
g) arrange for the development, installation and operation of preparatory
systems, the information system, the ballot aggregating computer
system, the building of the remote data processing network, and
the operation of the central aggregating and information systems..
The responsibilities of the National Election Office on the day of voting
17. § (1) The NEO shall
a) receive and aggregate
informative data generated during the day, and publish them;
b) inform NEC regarding
extraordinary events occurred during the day;
c) continuously inform the
public.
(2) NEO shall operate the national election centre, and inform NEC about the
preliminary results of the election.
The responsibilities of the National Election Office after the day of voting
18. § The NEO shall
a) receive the electoral district minutes before 2:00 p.m. on the day after
voting;
b) provide NEC with data with a view to ascertain and publish the results
of the election;
c) develop statistics, statements;
d) forward reserves submitted against the NEC’s decision on the result of
the referendum to the Supreme Court;
e) arrange for the publication of the result of the referendum in the
Hungarian Gazette;
f) operate the system that indicates the probability of abuses.
Chapter II
ESTABLISHING THE ELECTORAL DISTRICTS
19. § (1) Prior to calling the referendum, at a time determined by the head of
the NEO, the head the LEO shall review the establishment of
electoral districts, and bring forward the changes that have
occurred since the previous elections. The review shall include if
necessary the updating of the electoral districts pursuant to
paragraph (2) of Article 10 of the Procedural Law.
(2) The TEO shall through the administrative office, in
order to carry out the task defined in paragraph (1), send the LEO
the address files available, adding to them the number of
Hungarian citizens having domicile, for lack of it, residence, on
the given address, specially indicating the number of citizens of
legal age.
(3) In the event of any changes regarding the
previously established electoral district or establishing new
electoral districts, the head of LEO shall inform the
administrative office about the modifications, otherwise about the
fact that no changes have occurred.
(4) The head of the TEO shall check the legality of the
establishment of the electoral districts, and inform the head of
the NEO on the result of the checking.
(5) On the grounds of the assembled district files, or
the district lists, the administrative office shall develop the
district files of the county/capital in the computer, and forward
them to the central office of the particulars and address
registration.
20. § Apart from the date referred to in paragraph (1) of Article 19, the head
of the LEO shall monitor the changes affecting the arrangement of
electoral districts, modify the establishment of electoral
districts accordingly, and immediately inform the administrative
office about such modifications.
Part II
NATIONAL POPULAR INITIATIVE
21. § With regard to the national popular initiative the provisions of
Articles 3 and 15 shall apply.
CLOSING PROVISIONS
22. § The tasks connected to the registration of suffrage are set forth in Annex
1, the report made during the day on the turnout of the voting
and extraordinary events in Annex 2, the preliminary ballot aggregation in Annex 3, the aggregation of ballots in Annex 4, the list and samples of the printed matters to be
obligatorily used in Annex 5
of the Decree
23. § This Decree shall come into force on the first day of the month
following the day it is promulgated, its provisions shall be
applied during the national referendum or popular initiative
prescribed in Article 79 of Act XX of 1949 on the Constitution of
the Republic of Hungary, and initiated after it has come into
force.
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