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ballot box Each polling station will be equipped with two or more ballot boxes for the purpose of

voting. Ballot boxes shall be sealed in the presence of the voter first to vote in a way as to make it impossible to remove ballot papers from them without opening its sealing, breaking its seal, or the disassembling of the ballot box.

 

 

ballot paper Two ballot papers are handed over to voters at the parliamentary elections. There is a separate ballot paper for casting votes on individual constituency candidates and a separate ballot paper for voting on a territorial list. Votes may only be cast on an official ballot paper. Before handing the ballot paper over, the returning board stamps it with the official seal of the mayor?s office or that of the returning board, the lack of which entails the invalidity of the vote. The ballot papers are to be placed in an envelope, and thus into the ballot box after voting. Should the voter indicate prior to placing the ballot paper into the ballot box, that an error was made during the filling out of the ballot paper, then the erroneous ballot paper shall be taken by the returning board and a new one issued instead. Erroneous ballot papers may only be replaced by the returning board once.

 

 

basic election principles The universality and equality of suffrage, directness and confidentiality of voting.

 

 

campaign silence From midnight on the day preceding the election until 7 P.M. on the day of voting (until the end of voting) election campaigning shall be prohibited. The influencing of the voting-will of voters, and as such especially, any free service offered by the candidate, or nominating organisation (organised travel to voting, providing food and drink), the handing out of party buttons, flag, party symbols, objects bearing the picture or the name of the candidate, the placing of election posters (?poster? henceforth), and the spreading of information suitable for the influencing of voter-will, through electronic, or any other means, shall be considered a violation of campaign silence.

 

 

caveat During the public display of the register of voters ? that is between March 11, and 4 P.M.. March 18, 1998 ? a caveat may be entered in writing against exclusion from the register, or inclusion therein, at the head notary of the settlement, who shall bring a decision regarding the caveat within three days.

 

 

competence Distribution of tasks according to regional affiliation (horizontal) among organs with identical jurisdiction (authorities, courts of law, etc.). E.g. the returning board as an authority has competence over the voters residing, or temporarily residing in the polling ward, as well as those voting in the polling station. Similarly the local courts that operate around the country with identical competence may involve itself in a procedure which in some way is bound to the area of competence of the given court (the debtor is resident thereat, the appealed verdict was brought there, etc.). (See also: jurisdiction)

 

 

confidentiality of voting Confidentiality of voting means that the voters may cast their votes without its contents becoming public, that is in secret.

 

 

democracy of representation (indirect) In the case of a democracy of representation, or indirect democracy, the people create the laws and practice public powers through representatives duly elected by themselves. It is the most generally proliferated form of wielding powers in the modern democratic states of today. (See also: direct democracy)

 

 

denial of a voter The returning board shall deny the voter (in other words will not issue a ballot paper) who is unable to verify his/her personal identification and address (e.g. with a personal identification card), as well as the voter who may not be included in the register of voters due to the lack of legal conditions. A register of such persons shall be kept by the returning board. (See also: verification)

 

 

direct democracy The basic historical form of exercising public power. Direct democracy may be found as an exception, exercising public power today is mainly done through a democracy of representation. Its essence is that the citizens participate in legislation and public administration directly, in person. Two institutionalised instruments of direct democracies are referendum and popular initiative. (See also: democracy of representation)

 

 

direct voting Directness of voting means that voters cast their ballots directly on the candidates during elections. The typical format of elections is without doubt direct voting, yet in democratic countries there are a number of instances for the application of indirect voting, such as in the United States, where the voters cast their votes on electors, who is to have the right to the actual vote.

 

 

disfranchised voters Voters in whose case any of the natural reasons for disfranchisement exists according to the law shall not be entitled to vote. Thus any person who (1) is under curatorship restrictive or exclusive of his capacity for action; (2) has been barred by a final judicial decision from participating in public affairs; (3) is serving a prison sentence; (4) has been committed in criminal proceedings to compulsory medical treatment shall be disqualified from the franchise.

 

 

Election Information Service (VISZ) The National Election Office operates an Election Information Service (VISZ), whose basic task is the provision of data, as well as the informing of voters, the press, local and foreign inquirers, and the political parties with regard to legal issues. Inquiries made by telephone, telefax, E-mail, or letter, will be answered right away, if possible, but no later than in 1 or 2 days. VISZ may be reached in the following ways and times: in person: Monday to Thursday: 8.30 A.M. to 4.30 P.M., Friday: 8.30 A.M. to 2.00 P.M., in the Központi Nyilvántartó és Választási Hivatal (KÖNYV - Central Registration and Election Office) (Budapest II., Páfrány u. 9. fszt.). Postal address: KÖNYV VISZ, 1450 Budapest Pf. 81. Telephone: Freephone: 06-80-270-000 (with answering machine), 391-3608, telefax: 391-3609. E-mail: visz@mail.valasztas.hu, X-400: V=visz, Sz=osz, PRMD=pamnet, ADMD=attmail, C=hu; WEB: http://www.valasztas.hu

 

 

election laws Act XX. of 1949. ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE HUNGARIAN REPUBLIC; Act XXXIV. of 1989. on the Election of the Members of Parliament; Act C. of 1997. on the Election Procedure.

 

 

election notice A notification of inclusion in the register of voters, widely known as the knocking-card, informs the voter of the election of parliamentary representatives, and that s/he is entitled to vote. It contains information on the calling of election, inclusion in the register of voters, as well as about where and how voting is to take place. The election notice is to be disbursed to voters by the register-keeping notary between March 5 and March 13, 1998, along with the recommendation slip.

 

 

election office Election offices are organs with a state role which deal with the preparation, organisation, and conducting of elections, the party neutral informing of candidates and nominating organisations, the handling of election-data, the creation of technical conditions, the monitoring of the existence of legal circumstances and enforcing of professional rules. With the exception of returning boards there is an election office working beside every electoral committee. (A member of the local election office works beside the returning boards as a record-keeper.) Accordingly in the case of parliamentary elections there is a local election office (HVI) in every settlement, a parliamentary individual constituency election office (OEVI) in the seat of the parliamentary individual constituency, a territorial election office (TVI) in every county, and the National Election Office (OVI) at the national level. The settlement notary heads the HVI, the county chief-notary heads the TVI, the head of the OVI is appointed by the Minister of the Interior a. Members of the election offices are appointed by the heads of the respective offices. The members are civil and public servants: administrators, lawyers, IT professionals, who carry out the administrative, data-handling and technical tasks required for the continuos operation of the electoral committees.

 

 

electoral committees Electoral committees are independent organs of the citizens, subordinated only to law, whose primary tasks are the establishment of the election result, the ensuring of the fairness and legality of the election, the assertion of impartiality, and if the need be, the restoration of the lawful order of voting. The following electoral committees operate during parliamentary elections: returning boards (SZSZB) in the about 11 000 electoral wards, parliamentary individual constituency electoral committees in the 176 individual constituencies (OEVB), and the territorial electoral committees (TVB) in the 20 counties (territorial constituencies). Separate mention is worthy of the National Electoral Committee. Electoral committees comprise of on the one hand elected members, and on the other members delegated by candidates and nominating organisations. Elected members of the electoral committees must be elected by no later than 51 days prior to the day of election by the competent self-government assembly (OEVB), the county assembly (TVB), and Parliament (OVB). The returning boards are an exception to this rule, whose elected members are elected by the self-government assembly by the 20th day before the day of election. Electoral committees ? apart from elected members ? have one each additional member delegated by the organisations (parties) forwarding a candidate in the individual constituency (SZSZB, OEVB), presenting a territorial, or national list (TVB, OVB), as well as the independent candidate (delegated members). The rights and obligations of the elected and delegated members are identical, provided that the delegated members do not receive a fee.

The activity of the electoral committees runs parallel to the whole of the election process, from the collection of the nominating slips to the announcement of the final result. The committees monitor the nomination of candidates, and register the candidates (OEVB), the territorial lists (TVB), and the national list (OVB); approve the data content of the constituency ballot paper (OEVB, TVB). By aggregating the polling station results established by the returning boards they determine and publish the individual constituency (OEVB), territorial (TVB) and national (OVB) results of the election. They judge caveats against the local, territorial and national results of the election. Thereafter the various electoral committees issue the letters of incumbency to each of the representatives. Thus the letters of incumbency are issued by the OEVB to the parliamentary individual constituency candidates, by the TVB to the representatives receiving a mandate off of the territorial list, and by the National Electoral Committee to the representatives elected from the national list.

Electoral committees are considered authorities during the time of their operation, and their members officials. The electoral organ shall operate as a body, the presence of the majority of its members, and the majority of the votes of the present members shall be requisite for its resolutions to be valid. The electoral organ is represented by its chairman.

 

 

electoral law (franchise) Every person entitled to vote shall have the right to take part in the parliamentary elections. Every adult Hungarian citizen domiciled in Hungary is entitled to vote - unless disfranchised by some natural cause. (See also: disfranchised voters)

 

 

electoral ward Electoral wards shall be configured in a way as to allow 600-1200 voters to fall in one electoral ward, but at least one electoral ward must be configured in each settlement. The borderlines of electoral wards have hardly changed since the previous parliamentary elections, and so the majority of citizens may cast their votes at the familiar place.

 

 

end of voting The chairman of the returning board shall close the polling station at 7 P.M. Those voters, who are inside the polling station or its anteroom may still cast their votes. Thereafter the returning board shall close voting, and no votes cast afterwards shall be accepted.

 

 

equal suffrage The principle of equal suffrage expresses the requirement of every person entitled to vote participating in elections with equal rights, more directly every person entitled to vote shall have the right to vote with identical value. The right to vote with identical value means on the one hand the equality of the numerical value of the votes, that is everyone entitled to vote must have the same number of votes, for example in the double-vote parliamentary electoral system with two, or at a national referendum with a number that is the same as that of the questions, etc. On the other hand it means the identicality of the value of success of votes, that is votes cast by voters shall influence the final result of the election to an almost identical extent.

 

 

members of the returning board The returning boards shall comprise of on the one hand members elected by self-government assemblies, and on the other of members authorised by nominating organisations posting a candidate in the electoral district, and those authorised by independent candidates.

 

 

mobile ballot box In order for voters who are unable to move around to cast their votes ? upon their request ? they will be visited in their home, or temporary place of residence by two members of the competent returning board, and the mobile ballot box. Confidentiality of voting shall be ensured in such cases as well. Mobile ballot box voting may be requested from the notary prior to the election, and from the competent returning board on the day of voting.

 

 

monitoring Monitoring takes part parallel to almost the whole process of holding parliamentary elections. The operation and activities of electoral committees is public. Candidates and members authorised by nominating organisations may take part in the work of electoral committees. Computerised data of the election result must be made available on an equal footing to every authorised member participating in electoral bodies. The National Electoral Committee continuously oversees the preparation and reliable operation of computerised vote counting systems, and also the counting of votes, from the calling of elections. The openness of the holding of elections is supported by members of the press being allowed to be present without special permit at the work of electoral bodies, though they are not allowed to hinder the work of these bodies. A further guarantee of the legality of elections is the system of legal redress ensured by law. There are separate regulations for the monies used for electoral campaigning. Every nominating organisation and independent candidate must make public the sum, the source and means of utilisation of state and other financial assets, and other financial support spent on the election within 60 days of the second round of elections. State and other financial assets spent on the election are reviewed by the State Audit Office within one year of the second round of the elections mandatorily in the case of nominating organisations and independent candidates that receive parliamentary mandate, and upon the request of other candidates and nominating organisations with regard to additional nominating organisations and independent candidates. See also: legal remedy.

 

 

polling station Official premise for the casting of votes by voters residing in the same locality, the address of which is notified to the voter on the election notice. The polling station may not be closed during the time of voting. The chairman of the returning board shall be responsible for order being kept in and around the polling station, and any measure of the chairman for the keeping of order will be obligatory to all. Voters may only stay in the polling station for as long as they cast their votes. The polling station may not be in a building that is used by a candidate or a nominating organisation.

 

 

polling-booth Each polling station will have at least two, separate polling booths, which ensure the secrecy of voting. A pen shall be placed in the polling booth for casting votes. Voters are not obliged to vote in the polling booths.

 

 

prevention Any person staying abroad on the day of election, as well as and having no permanent or temporary place of residence in Hungary shall be considered to be prevented from exercising his or her right to vote

 

 

public display The register of voters shall be displayed by the settlement (village, town, metropolitan district) notary in the Mayor?s Office of the settlement self-government between March 11 and March 18, 1998, where it may be inspected by anyone. The population must be informed previously in the normal local manner of the date of the public display of the register of voters.

 

 

public survey Public survey may be conducted before and after the day of election, the result of which, however, may not be made public from the eighth day preceding the election (May 2, and May 16, 1998) until 7 P.M. on the day of the election. Public survey may only be carried out with the following conditions on the day of election in the interest of public calm and unhindered voting: (1) it may only be anonymous and based on voluntariness; (2) survey conductors may not enter a building in which there is a polling station; (3) the survey conductors may not harass the voters, may not force them to give statement, and may only ask those coming out of the polling station. The voter shall have the right to keep his/her opinion secret. Any answer given in public survey shall not influence the final result of the election.

 

 

record-keeper A record-keeper, who is a member of the local electoral office, works beside the returning board on the day of the election. The record-keeper is not a member of the returning board. His/her task is the keeping, according to the decisions made by the returning board, of the various registers, minutes, and register of voters, and following the end of voting the filling out of the datasheet and polling ward minutes.

 

 

register of voters The register of those having the right to vote at parliamentary elections (register of voters) is an authentic registry in the public domain, on the basis of which citizens may determine whether the are eligible to vote at parliamentary elections or not. The register of voters beside the above is also an important tool for the assistance of the bodies conducting elections, as it is with the help of this document that they are able to control the eligibility of the voters coming to vote, and this is how multiple voting may be eliminated.

 

 

residence Voting is to take place at a polling station designated according to the voters place of residence. The place of residence is the address contained in the voters identification card, or such lacking, the place of temporary residence. (See also: verification)

 

 

time of voting Voting shall be from 6 A.M. until 7 P.M. on the day of election. If local conditions so require, the local electoral committee may decree that voting begin at 5 A.M.

 

 

universal suffrage The principle of universal suffrage expresses that every adult Hungarian citizen ? with the exception of what are termed natural reasons for disqualification ? shall have the right to vote. The natural reasons for disqualification are curatorship restrictive or exclusive of capacity for action, serving a prison sentence, being barred from participating in public affairs, and being committed to compulsory medical treatment. (see also: electoral law, disfranchised citizens)

 

 

verification Verification is a public instrument issued by the Mayor?s Office, with the purpose of allowing a voter to cast a vote at a place different than where s/he was originally registered. Verification may be issued if the voter is to be absent from his/her place of residence on the day of election. In such a case verification contains, on the basis of the voter?s declaration, the settlement where s/he intends to vote.

Verification may be requested at the Mayor?s Office in the place of residence ? for both the first and second round of elections ? until 4 P.M. on May 8, 1998, or in a letter, in a way as for the request to arrive at the mayor?s office by May 5. The voter may request with verification in the Mayor?s Office at the place of his absence, until 4 P.M. on the day preceding the election, and on the day of the election in a polling ward near his/her new place of residence, or temporary place of residence, to be included in the register of voters, and thus cast his/her vote.

 

 

voter with first vote The returning board checks the state of the ballot boxes and their emptiness before the commencement of voting in the presence of the voter first to cast his/her vote. Thereafter the returning board places a control sheet in the ballot box, which is signed by the voter with the first vote as well. The voter with the first vote may not be a member of the returning board.

 

 

voting Voters may cast their votes at the polling station designated according to their place of residence, or at the station where they have been subsequently included in the register of voters on the basis of verification or on the basis of their personal identification card. In order to vote the voter must prove his/her identity to the returning board with his/her identification card. Thereafter the returning board will hand over the ballot papers. Receipt of the ballot papers is verified by the voter by signing the register of voters in his/her own hand. A valid vote may be cast on each ballot paper only by voting on one candidate, or one list, by indicating ?X? or ?+? in the circle provided next to or under the candidate or the list. A vote will only be valid if cast on an official ballot paper, and if it may be unambiguously determined which answer the voter cast his/her vote on, and the ballot paper has been stamped with the stamp of the mayor?s office or that of the returning board, and if it was cast with a pen. The ballot paper shall be placed in an envelope after being filled out, and placed in the ballot box. Voters may only stay in the polling station as long as necessary to cast their votes. (See also: ballot paper)