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Frequently repeated questions (FRQ) What is the role, significance of national referendums? Our Constitution states that citizens in the Republic of Hungary take part in conducting the affairs of the country primarily through their elected representatives, indirectly. A democracy does also mean that people can take part in deciding and/or contribute to public issues of overriding importance, directly. National referendums serve to this purpose. Within which body's competence does the ordering of referendums fall? The ordering of national referendums falls within the competence of the Parliament. What type of referendums are possible in terms of ordering (legal basis)? Referendums may be ordered by the Parliament. It is possible in two cases: a) On the initiative of minimum 200.000 voters the Parliament must order the referendum - irrespective of whether the Parliament itself agrees with the calling of the referendum. Such referendums are binding referendums deciding the case, so their result will bind the Parliament. b) When the Parliament is obliged only to deliberate the calling of the referendum, but after all it will merely consider whether to call the referendum or not, it is facultative referendum. A facultative referendum may be either a non-binding referendum voicing voters' opinion or a binding referendum deciding the case (it is the latter if the referendum serves as the restate-ment of a law adopted by the Parliament but not signed by the President of the Republic). What matters cannot be decided by national referendums (prohibited referendum subjects)? There are institutions and rules serving public interest that shall be by all means enforced, even if some citizens disapprove of them, or finds them contrary to the country's interests. Regarding these issues a referendum can cause such uncertainty, which consequently inter-feres with the interests of the country, of which we are all apart of. That is why pursuant to our Constitution it is prohibited to hold referendums on: a) the content of laws on the budget; the implementation of the budget; central tax cate-gories and duties; customs duties; and the central conditions of local taxes; b) obligations arising from effective international agreements, and the content of laws containing such obligations; c) the provisions of the Constitution on referendums, popular initiatives; d) personnel and organisation restructuring (restructuring, terminating) issues that fall within the competence of the Parliament, e) dissolving the Parliament; f) the program of the Government; g) declaring war, proclaiming a state of emergency; h) applying military forces abroad or inside the country; i) dissolving the body of representatives of local governments; j) exercising amnesty. Who may initiate national referendums? The ordering of a national referendum may be initiated by the following: a) voters {if the initiative is supported by more than 100,000 but less than 200,000 voters, the ordering of the referendum is subject to the Parliament's deliberation (facultative referen-dum), but if the number of initiating voters attain 200,000, the national referendum must be ordered (obligatory referendum)}, b) the President of the Republic, c) the Government, d) at least one third of the Members of Parliament elected. In the event of initiatives by those mentioned in clauses b), c), and d), the ordering of the
national referendum depends on the deliberation of the Parliament (facultative referendum). To propose a national referendum each citizen is entitled to collect signatures, applicable to the public domain, or to carry out organisation work with a view to collecting signatures. Signatures may not be collected: a) at places of work during working hours, or while one is fulfilling his or her obligation to perform work arising from employment or other legal relationships concerning performance of work; b) from persons in service relations with the armed forces and police authorities, at the place of service or while they perform tasks of service; c) on means of public transport; d) in the official rooms of state organisations or municipal bodies. It is prohibited to give advantage or to promise to give advantage to the signer, or with respect to the signer to others, for the signature; and to ask for advantage, or to accept advantage or a promise to give advantage for the signature. To support voters' initiatives aimed at calling a national referendum, signatures may be collected on signature collecting sheets equal to the signature collecting sheets approved by the National Election Committee. Each signature collecting sheet shall begin with the formulation of the question (questions) proposed for the referendum. On the signature-collecting sheet, the eligible name, address and personal identification number and signature of the signer, and the signature of the citizen collecting the signatures shall be indicated. The signature collecting sheets signed by voters shall be submitted to the National Election Committee. The signatures are checked by the National Election Office. What shall the Parliament do in connection with ordering the national referendum? If a national referendum has been initiated by minimum 200.000 voters with their signatures, the Parliament must order it. If the National Election Committee (NEC) finds that more than 100.000 but less than 200.000 signatures are authentic, then it is not obligatory to call the
referendum, it will depend on the Parliament's deliberation. Who assigns a date for the national referendum? The President of the Republic assigns a date for the referendum. What date shall be assigned by the President of the Republic for the referendum? The President of the Republic will assign a date for the referendum 15 days after the term of legal remedy against the resolution of the Parliament ordering the referendum has elapsed without result, or after the legal remedy has been adjudged. The date of the referendum: - may not fall on national holidays, public holidays, or on the days preceding or follow-ing them; - may not fall on a day that is equal to the day of the general election of Members of Parliament, or municipality representatives and mayors, or on the period of 41 days preceding or following it. If the referendum cannot be called for at a date within 90 days from the date when the Parlia-ment orders it because of parliamentary elections or local elections, then the referendum shall be called for at a date within 131 days after the elections. How shall the question (questions) put forward to the referendum be formulated? The unambiguity and decidability of the question proposed for the referendum is related to constitutional interest; therefore, the question (questions) put forward to the referendum shall be formulated in such a manner that on the basis of it, each voter can answer unambiguously, and the Parliament can decide what obligation it is bound by in the event of a conclusive referendum. Who is entitled to take part in national referendums? Each Hungarian citizen of legal age residing in Hungary shall have the right to vote in national referendums, except when he or she - is under guardianship limiting or excluding his or her ability to act (for example, he or she is mentally retarded); - is subject to a final judgement barring him or her from exercising public affairs; - is serving his or her sentence of imprisonment; - is under compulsory therapy at an institute ordered in a criminal procedure with legal force. What purpose does the register of voters serve? The register of voters is a publicly attested registration, which contains the particulars of those who have the right to vote in national referendums. The register is the most important
guaranteed element of the law, in the conduction of the election. It has a role in determining the
result: by using it, it is possible to check the franchise of voters who appear at the
ballot-box; and in order to avoid abuses, it is possible to screen persons who vote twice, several times. The register is compiled by the head of the local election office (the clerk of the settlement). Where and when is the register publicly displayed? The clerk of the settlement will publicly display the register at the mayor's office from 6 November to 13 November 2004 where it can be openly inspected. The population shall be informed in advance about the date of displaying the register in public, the way it is locally cus-tomary. What purpose does the notice slip (coupon) serve? The notice slip is an information notice on inclusion in the register, which calls the attention of voters to the fact that they may cast their vote in the national, binding referendum. The notice slip contains information on calling the referendum, inclusion in the register, in addition to when, where, how and on the presentation of which documents one can vote. The notice slip will be sent to voters by the clerk until 6 November 2004. When and where can reserves against omission from or inclusion in the register be lodged? Reserves against omission from or inclusion in the register can be lodged during the period the register is publicly displayed, that is, from 6 November to 04:00 p.m. 13 November 2004, in writing, with the clerk who maintains the register. Who and with what term adjudges reserves against omission or inclusion? The subject of the reserve will be decided by the clerk who maintains
the register, at the
latest on the day following the receipt of the reserve. If the clerk agrees with what is contained in the reserve, he will modify the register, if he does not sustain the reserve, he will forward it to the local court, in Budapest to the Pest Central District Court, at the latest on the day
following its receipt. If the court finds the reserve to be well-founded, it will order the modification of the register, otherwise, it will dismiss the reserve. What happens if the voter changes residence in Hungary after the register has been made? If the voter changes his or her address after the register has been made, the head of the election office of the new address will include him or her in the register, simultaneously with the application for registration, and will inform the voter by handing over the notice slip. The head of the local election office will immediately inform the clerk of the former address in order to delete the voter from the register. What are the main rules for establishing electoral districts? An electoral district is an official room that serves the voting of voters living in one abode, who are informed about its address on the coupon. Electoral districts shall be established in such a manner that one electoral district should cover approx. 600 but maximum 1,200 voters, however, it is obligatory to establish at least one electoral district for each settlement. How can voters away from their residence but residing in Hungary vote? Voters away from their domicile can vote with a certificate. The certificate can be applied for either personally or through a delegate at the Mayor's Office of the residence until 04:00 p.m. on 3 December 2004, and by registered mail in order for the application to be received at the latest by 30 November. With this certificate voters may request their inclusion in the register, at their place of residence, at the Mayor's Office before the referendum, and at the electoral district on the day of the referendum, and so they may vote there. How can Hungarian voters staying abroad on the day of the election vote? Voters staying abroad on the day of the election can vote at the embassies of the Republic of Hungary if they are included in the register at foreign representations. Hungarian citizens of legal age, who are registered as residing in the territory of the Republic of Hungary, who stay abroad on the day of voting are included in the register at foreign representations, and can prove their identity with proper documents may duly vote at embassies. How can inclusion in the register at foreign representations be applied for? Applications for inclusion in the register at foreign representations shall be submitted to the head of the local election office of the voter's residence (the clerk of the
settlement) personally or through a delegate or by registered mail, until 04:00 p.m. on 19 November
2004. Applications shall be submitted personally or through a delegate the latest until 04:00 p.m. on 19 November 2004 to the clerk of the voter's domicile. Applications sent by registered mail shall be received also until this time and date. This term is a term of preclusion. If there is no objection to fulfilling the application, the clerk will immediately include the voter in the register at foreign representations, and will simultaneously delete him or her from the register of voters of his or her residence. Voters may lodge a reserve against the clerk's decision to dismiss the application for
inclu-sion in the register at foreign representations 3 days from the receipt of the notice with the clerk making the decision. The clerk will decide the reserve on the day following the receipt of the reserve. These citizens may vote if they establish a residence on settlement level at the clerk; in this case they may vote at the electoral district assigned to them by the clerk, the address of which will be given to them at the local election office. How can people hindered by their condition from voting vote? Voters who have impaired eyesight or are unable to read, or who are hindered by their
physical handicap or some other cause, from voting, may rely on another voter's assistance, or, for lack of it, the joint assistance of two members of the ballot counting committee. They may as well call their helpers to the
polling-booth, and there they may fill in the ballot paper jointly in accordance with the voters' instruction. How can people who are in hospital on the day of voting vote? Voters not included in the register of the electoral district on the territory of which the
hospi-tal is located may vote only if they have a certificate. In possession of the certificate, they shall have themselves entered in the register of the electoral district on the territory of which the hospital is located. They may apply to the clerk of their residence for the certificate (see the question
"How can voters away from their residence but residing in Hungary vote?").
Re-quests for mobile ballot-boxes may be submitted to the election office competent on the
territory of the hospital on the day before the day of voting, or to the ballot counting committee on the day of voting. What election committees are operated in national referendums? In national referendums the following election committees are operated: - ballot counting committees (at settlements having one electoral district local election offices fulfil the duties of ballot counting committees), - regional election committees, and - the National Election Committee. At embassies no ballot counting committees are operated, the ballots cast there are counted by the National Election Committee. Who do ballot counting committees consist of in national referendums? Ballot counting committees consist of elected and delegated members. Who may take part in the work of ballot counting committees? Only the members of the ballot counting committee may take part in the work of the ballot counting committee. Who can be present during the process of the counting the ballots? Only the members of the ballot counting committee and media people may be present while ballots are counted; the latter may not disturb the work of the ballot counting committee. How does voting take place at embassies? Voting is conducted by the election office at the foreign representation. The election office at the foreign representation establishes the identity of the voter and establishes whether or not he or she is included in the register at foreign representations. The voter receives the ballot–paper and the envelope, and then signs the statement on voting. After which the statement on voting is authenticated by a member of the election office. The voter places the completed ballot paper into the envelope, and seals the envelope. The voter hands over the sealed envelope and statement on voting to a member of the election office at the foreign representation, who then places them into another envelope in the presence of the voter, after which he seals it and hands it over to the voter. The voter signs the envelope on the seal, and then places it in the ballot-box. Who can be observers and what are their tasks? Only Hungarian citizens having the right to vote and who are registered by the National
Election Committee can be observers. In national referendums those submitting the initiative may delegate one common fiduciary to each foreign representation; furthermore, political parties, not taking part in the submission of the initiative but having a parliamentary representative group, may each delegate one fiduciary to each foreign representation. The costs related to the delegation of the fiduciary shall be borne by the delegator. On what conditions can public opinion polls be conducted on the day of the referendum? In order to ensure voter calmness and undisturbed voting, public opinion polls may be
con-ducted on the day of the referendum only in the following conditions: a) Reserves may be lodged against the activity and decision of the ballot counting
com-mittee with the regional election committees. Reserves against the decision of the
regional election committee will be decided by the metropolitan, county court. Where can voters turn if the electoral law is violated? a) With reference to the violation of electoral laws, complaints may be submitted to the election committee entitled to adjudge them. The complaint shall be received in three days from the occurrence of the activity alleged to be unlawful. b) Reserves may be lodged against the decisions of the election committee adjudging the complaint and its other decisions with the election committee having adopted the decision found injurious. The reserves shall be received in 3 days from adopting the decision alleged to be unlawful. When is the national referendum conclusive? A binding national referendum is conclusive when more than half of the voters who have voted validly but at least one fourth of all of the voters give the same answer to the question formulated. This criterion of conclusiveness can be fulfilled in practice as follows (given that the voter's number is 8 million): a) If more than half of the voters take part in the referendum (and vote validly), then one of the referendum's answers must receive more than half of the ballots cast. With this kind of turnout the referendum can be inconclusive only in the event of the equality of votes. Hence - if all 8 000 000 voters vote validly, the referendum is conclusive when any of the answers receives a minimum of 4 000 001 votes; - if 6 000 000 voters vote validly, the referendum is conclusive when any of the an-swers receives a minimum of 3 000 001 votes; - if 4 000 000 voters vote validly, the referendum is conclusive when any of the an-swers receives a minimum of 2 000 001 votes. (Assuming in each of the examples and test tasks that the number of all of the citizens having the right to vote is 8 000 000.) b) If less than half (or just half) but more than one fourth of voters vote validly in the referendum, then 50% of the votes cast is no longer sufficient to make the referendum conclusive; it is necessary that more than one fourth of all of the voters cast a yes or no vote unanimously. In such a case, it might occur, notwithstanding the case of equality of votes, that none of the answers receives the necessary majority. As the number of voters taking part in the referendum decreases, the condition of conclusiveness becomes stricter and stricter: if there is a 50% turnout, then support exceeding half of the votes cast is enough for a conclusive decision; if only a little more than 25% of the voters vote, all of them must cast the same vote in order to make the referendum conclusive. This criterion of conclusiveness can be fulfilled in practice as follows: - if 4 000 000 voters vote validly, the referendum is conclusive when any of the answers receives a minimum of 2 000 001 votes; - if 3 000 000 voters vote validly, the referendum is conclusive when any of the answers receives a minimum of 2 000 001 votes; - if 2 000 001 voters vote validly, the referendum is conclusive when all of the voters cast their vote on the same answer. c) If less then one fourth (or just one fourth) of the voters (2 000 000 voters) vote validly, the referendum will be in any case inconclusive. Which election body adjudges reserves against the result of the referendum? The result of the referendum is determined by the National Election Committee, reserves may be lodged against its decision until 04:00 p.m. on the day following the adoption of this
decision. With what documents can voters prove their identity and address? Votes may be cast only personally, presenting the following valid certificates: a) Identity card containing domicile b) Address certificate AND: - Identity card, or - Passport, or - Driving licence issued after 1 January 2001, or - Army ID card, in the event of conscripts. Where can voters inquire about issues related to the referendum? On the grounds of the authorisation given in paragraph (1) Article § 35 of Act C of 1997 on Electoral Procedure (hereinafter referred to as Electoral Procedure Act), election offices
prepare, organise, conduct elections; provide voters, nominating organisations with information free form party bias; manage election data; create technical conditions; check the existence of statutory conditions and compliance with professional rules. The National Election Office edits a special Internet webpage, the contents of which follows the entire process of the
election. What is the address of election offices and election committees? In Hungary beside each election committee, except for ballot counting committees, an election office is operated. The secretarial duties of the election committee is fulfilled by the election office. The contact details of the election committees and election offices are in every case equal to the contact details of the mayor's office, or the address of the office of the county general meeting. The address of the National Election Office: Address: Budapest, IX. Balázs Béla utca 35. The Election Information Service of the National Election Office can be accessed by phone, fax, or
e-mail. The National Election Committee can be reached at the address, telephone and fax number of the National Election Office. Where and how can the address certificates be applied for? Changes in the voter's address shall be reported to the clerk of the new residence. As a result of the change in the address the voter will receive a card format official certificate certifying his or her new address, which is commonly called "address card". If a document office is operated at the new residence, then the issuance of the document shall be initiated there; in this case, the term of administration is shorter. Is it possible to vote with expired documents? Administrative bodies issue an official certificate for regularly proving the client's details. The data content and terms of validity of the official certificate are determined by the rule of law. After its expiry voters cannot credibly prove their identity, address. Where and when can citizens inspect the results of the referendum? The head of the local election office is obliged to ensure that the minutes on the electoral district results of the referendum can be inspected at the election office for 3 days after the day of voting. The results of the national referendum can be inspected on the Internet, or in the national daily papers. Who are international observers and what rights do they have? As a signatory of the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the Organisation for Security and Coop-eration in Europe (OSCE), Hungary has assumed an obligation to call observers from other OSCE Member Sates and proper non-governmental organisations to the elections to be held in the country. Accordingly, each election body shall advance the lawful and successful work of foreign election observers. Similarly to the representatives of the media, international observ-ers may be present while election committees, including ballot counting committees, carry out their work; however, they may not disturb their activity, and may not give instructions to them. The accreditation of international observers is performed by the National Election Office. On the day of voting foreign election observers: a. may study the commencement and process of voting at any electoral district chosen by them; b. shall report their intention to observe to the chairman of the ballot counting committee on the spot; c. may receive any information of public interest related to voting; d. may be present when ballots are counted and will be given information orally on its result; e. may follow the incoming, processing of partial election results with attention to the National Election Centre; to this end, they may attend press conferences, and are entitled to preliminary information material, in addition to following the development of election results with due attention.
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