III. THE ELECTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR
NATIONAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES
III.1. The system of minority municipalities
The Constitution ensures the right for the national and ethnic minorities acknowledged in Hungary to establish local and national self-governments. Pursuant to Act LXXVII of 1993 on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities the Armenian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Gypsy, Polish, Romanian, Russ, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian and Ukrainian minorities may initiate the call for the election. Effective rules of law allow them to establish either one of three forms of local
government.
a) settlement minority municipality (“transformed”); or
b) directly created local governments for minorities,
c) indirectly created local governments for minorities.
a) As a result of the elections, if more than half of the body of representatives of the settlement municipality have been elected as candidates of a given minority, thus they will be entitled to express this majority also in the name of the municipality, and declare the municipality a settlement minority
municipality.
b) If at least 30 percent of the representatives of the council have been elected as candidates of one and the same minority, these representatives may establish a local government for minorities consisting of 3 members separately for each minority. Subsequently, the right of deciding this matter shall be, provided that conditions are complied with, the right of the representatives involved.
At one settlement one local government for one minority may be operated, therefore in these two cases, no directly elected minority municipality may be established.
c) The third form of self-government of minorities on local level, the directly created minority municipality may be established by voters through direct election. This solution is especially favourable where the proportion of minority representatives elected into the body of representatives does not attain 30%, and the group of the population that belongs to a national or ethnic minority lives on the territory of the operation of the settlement municipality and for them the fact that they have their own local government at the settlement will offer a new possibility.
The terms of reference and the scope of authority of the indirectly and directly created local governments for minorities ensured by law are identical.
III.2. Preferences allowed to national and ethnic minorities
III.2.1. Preference allowed at settlements with 10.000 and less inhabitants
At settlements with 10,000 and less inhabitants when electing the body of representatives of the local government, provided that at the small list elections none of the candidates of the given minority has become a representative, it is possible to obtain a preferential seat if one has won at least half of the number of votes received by the representative who has obtained a seat in the body of representatives with the least votes. The preferential representative’s seat will be added to the original number of the members of the body, the legal status and obligations of the minority representative is equal to the legal status and obligations of other representatives. The benefit is due to the minorities separately.
III.2.2. Preference allowed at settlements with more than 10.000 inhabitants
At settlements with more than 10,000 inhabitants minorities may enter a preferential list. While out of the political parties, social organisations only those that are able to put forward candidates in at least one-fourth of single mandate constituencies may set up lists, minorities are not burdened with such conditions. The minority list is established on the strength of the law; each minority candidate (either a candidate of a minority organisation or an independent candidate) is indicated on it separately for each minority, but individual minority candidates may run on a joint list too. The minority list obtains seats in proportion to votes. If, however, pursuant to general rules the given minority list does not obtain any seat, then the list will obtain a seat once it has attained one-fourth of the ballots required for obtaining a seat. Candidates are given seats from the minority list on the grounds of the votes won in the single mandate constituency. The preferential representative’s seat will be added to the original number of the body of representatives; the legal status of the minority representative is identical with the legal status and obligations of other
representatives.
When electing settlement municipalities, with regard to putting forward candidates, furthermore, when electing the mayor, and the members of the metropolitan and county convention, minorities are
not entitled to receive any special benefit, they compete for seats with political parties, social organisations under equal conditions.
III.3. The election of national and ethnic minorities’ independent (own) local governments
Voters may through direct election establish local governments for minorities (hereinafter referred to as “directly created local government for minorities”). The local government for minorities is elected directly by voters independently of but simultaneously with the settlement municipality. The minority representative thus elected is the member solely of the body of the local government for minorities.
The call for the election of the directly created local government for minorities has to be initiated in writing in 10 days from the election the of settlement municipality at the local election office. The election of the local government for minorities may not be called unless this has been initiated by at least 5 persons living in the settlement and declaring themselves to belong to one and the same minority.
It is not a condition that those initiating the election of the local government for minorities shall be members of any minority organisation. The electoral law does not contain such stipulation, it only makes it a condition that the initiators shall declare themselves to belong to one and the same minority, and initiate the election of a local government for that very minority.
It is a statutory regulation that one minority may establish only one local government for minorities at a given settlement. The direct election of the local government for minorities is called by the local election committee, which determines the terms and deadlines of the election, and ascertains the results of the election.
The election shall be called 45 days before the election of the settlement municipality for a date identical with it. (The date of the election of the settlement municipality shall be defined by the President of the Republic; and it is not allowed to deviate from it.) The local election committee (hereinafter referred to as “LEC”), in the event the statutory conditions are complied with, will call the election of the local government for minorities. LEC will publish an announcement on such call, or arrange that voters are informed the way it is locally is
customary.
The number of the members of the local government for minorities is determined by
law:
- at settlements with 1 300 or less inhabitants: 3 persons
- at settlements with more than 1 300 inhabitants (including the districts of the capital): 5 persons.
A separate ballot paper serves the election of the local government for minorities. All of the minority candidates are indicated on the ballot paper in separate columns for each minority, the name of candidates are shown in alphabetic order. Minorities may use their language during elections. The name of the candidate and the nominating organisation is indicated on the ballot paper, on request, also in the language of the minority. Voters may cast a valid vote only on one minority, and within this may vote maximum on as many candidates as many representatives may be elected into the body. Out of the candidates those who have won, in compliance with the rules of small list election, the most votes according to the number of electable representatives will be representatives.
It is a condition of the validity of the election of the local government for minorities that at settlements with 10,000 or less inhabitants at least 50, at settlements with more than 10,000 inhabitants at least 100 voters shall cast a valid vote on the given minority small list. The validity condition shall hold separately for each minority, thus, for example, if there are three minority elections, then 3x50 or 3x100 valid votes are required to make all of the three elections valid.
If as a result of nomination there are not at least as many candidates as many representatives may be elected, or the number of valid votes regarding one minority does not attain 50, or 100, then the body of representatives of the local government for minorities will not be established. The body of representatives will be elected at the next general elections of local governments for minorities.