VIII. ELECTION INTERNET INFORMATION SYSTEM
In addition to fairly conducting the elections, one of the most important tasks of the National Election Office is to provide the public and the election machinery with information.
The aim and task of its Internet based information system is to present the information, data, results of the elections swiftly, accurately and authentically, and to display the mass of information connected to the election results in a systematised form.
VIII.1. The services of the Internet Information System
Our intention is to address our services to voters, nominating organisations and candidates, players of state administration, and every foreign and domestic inquirer as well as international observers, ensuring by this means that the cleanness of the election process can be checked extensively.
The services of the information system contain information free form any political and party bias.
We intend to attain openness, a structure easy to survey by making the authentic documents available for us accessible on our Web sites as soon as practically possible.
The information material of the Ministry of the Interior contains exclusively information free form any political or party bias. The Internet Information System can be read in Hungarian and, with less extensive content, in English.
How to access the election Internet (Web site addresses):
www.valasztas.hu, and www.election.hu.
Please note that the site appears by default in Hungarian, to access the English version the English flag below the title needs to be clicked
on.
The Internet services focus on two main areas:
- the current election events, results; and
- general information regarding the local governmental elections.
A highlighted service of the Web sites is the publication of dynamic data by which the content of the Internet information service, from the call for the local elections to the time and date when the final and official results of the elections are produced, is adjusted to the current events.
On election day, the system supplies information on the number of the turnout and the possible extraordinary events, then, after the electoral districts have been closed at 7:00 p.m., the events of the preliminary vote summarising process can be followed up. Once the official results of the elections have been produced, the preliminary results will be replaced by the NEC’s announcement.
VIII.2. The menu structure of the Internet service
As it has been noted, the Hungarian version has a more extensive content than the version addressed to international inquirers. Therefore, the version made for Hungarian voter(s) will be described here for inquirers not speaking Hungarian, indicating the deviations in the English version with italics.
Main menu:
Law
NEC
Our local governmental election system
Information
Election Calendar
Previous elections
First-time voters
Links of local governments
Election Information Services
Related Web sites
Main menu (English version):
Law
OVB – National Electoral Committee
Info
Calendar
Previous elections
VIII.2.1. Law
The section contains the rules of law, decrees, decisions which brief voters, candidates and nominating organisations as well as the participants of the election administration with regard to the elections.
It includes:
- the Constitution
- the decrees of the President of the Republic
- the statutes
- the resolutions of the Parliament
- the decrees of the Minister of the Interior
- the measures of the leader of the National Election Office
It includes in English:
- the abstract of the Constitution
- specific acts of paramount importance
- the decrees of the Minister of the Interior
- the measures of the leader of the National Election Office.
VIII.2.2. NEC
The section contains the standpoints, individual decisions of public interest of the National Election Committee, the terms of reference of the NEC, the list of its members, the resolution of the Parliament, the decisions of the Supreme Court made with regard to applications for redress submitted against the decisions of the NEC. The English version contains the list of the members of the
NEC.
VIII.2.3. Our local governmental election system
General information about our local governmental election system:
Settlement information
Settlements with more than ten thousand inhabitants (listing the information materials regarding the local elections and settlements)
Settlements with less than ten thousand inhabitants (listing information materials regarding the local elections and settlements)
Cities having county rights (information materials regarding the local elections and cities)
3,200 settlements (option to search individual settlements in alphabetic order and information regarding the local elections, which can be found below them)
The municipal elections of the citizens of the capital (information material regarding local elections).
Information regarding each type of election
Electing the body of representatives
Electing the metropolitan/county convention
Electing the Mayor of the capital/the mayor
Protecting the rights of national and ethnic minorities
Electing local governments for minorities
VIII.2.4. Information (Info)
The section contains, in an awareness-raising form, documents, information of generous purpose related to the
elections:
- general information connected to the election of the local governments of settlements.
- the system of concepts of various events,
- multilingual election vocabulary,
- the list of connected servers,
- information on how to access the election information services.
Accordingly, the sub-menus of the section are as follows:
Settlement information (its content is identical with the content of the menu of Our Local Governmental Election)
Information regarding each type of election (its content is identical with the menu of Our Local Governmental
Election)
General information
Electoral Guidelines (available on the election Web but with continuously extended content)
Questions frequently repeated
Terms, documents
Vocabulary of the technical terms of the election
The addresses, telephone numbers of local governments (link to www.b-m.hu)
Election Information Services in a county breakdown
Connected Web sites
The English version includes the constituency map of the country, the election terms and the vocabulary of technical terms, information notices for the population, the list of frequently repeated questions; also, the connected web sites can be accessed from here.
VIII.2.5. Election Calendar (Calendar)
The task of the election calendar is to display with graphic support events connected to individual election procedures, making their order visible.
The HTML pages contain deadlines and activities connected to the elections in a calendar day breakdown. This element is available also in English.
VIII.2.6. Former elections (Previous elections)
The section contains information on former referendums, elections. It provides access to the data of the Election History Database (1990-1998). As from 1997, it contains the archived data of the Internet based information system (the referendum of 1997; the general parliamentary elections of 1998; the general local governmental elections of 1998; the parliamentary by-elections between 1999-2001; the local governmental by-elections between 1999-2001; the minority elections of 1999; the general parliamentary elections of 2002). This element is available also in English.
VIII.2.7. First-time voters
It provides a link to a Web site where we supply first-time voters with information with emphasised attention regarding their rights and obligations connected to the elections.
VIII.2.8. Links of local governments
By using references in a county breakdown, it is possible to access the Web sites of individual settlements. This element is available also in English.
VIII.2.9. Election Information Service
Information is provided with regard to the operation of, access to the information services operated by the National Election Office and the territories. This element is available only in Hungarian.
VIII.2.10. Related Web sites
It contains a set of links that help inquirers to search for and access further useful information.
In the English version, this menu item can be accessed from the main menu “Info”.