ACT NO XXXIV OF 1989 ON THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS
OF
PARLIAMENT
(Enacted by Parliament on 20 October 1989)
PART I
SUFFRAGE
Art.l. Suffrage shall be general and equal, and voting shall be direct and
secret.
Art 2. (1) Every adult Hungarian citizen except those mentioned in
para. (2) shall have the right to vote during the
election of Members of Parliament in the
(2) Any person
who
(a) is under curatorship restrictive or exclusive of his
capacity for action;
(b) has been barred by a final judicial decision from
participating in public affairs; (c) is serving a prison sentence;
(d) has been committed in criminal proceedings to compulsory
medical treatment shall be disqualified from the franchise.
(3) Every
person entitled to vote and domiciled in
(4) Any person
staying abroad on the day of election and having no permanent or temporary
place of residence in
Art.3. Exercise of the right to vote shall be optional.
PART II
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
Chapter I
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Art.4. (1) The number of MPs shall total 386.
(2) There shall
be elected 176 MPs in individual constituencies and 152 in county and
metropolitan (hereafter territorial) ones. On the basis of a national aggregate
of votes less than required for mandates in individual and territorial
constituencies the parties may obtain an additional 58 compensatory mandates
from the national list.
(3) The number
of individual constituencies in the counties and the capital city and that of
the mandates obtainable in each territorial constituency as well as the
principles governing the establishment of constituencies are determined by the
Schedule hereto.
(4) MPs shall
have equal rights and duties.
Chapter II
NOMINATION
Art.5. (1) Candidates in individual constituencies may be nominated, subject
to the conditions specified by para.(2), by electors and social organisations
complying with the provisions of the Act on the Functioning and Finances of
Political Parties (henceforth: party). Candidates may also be nominated jointly
by two or more parties. In case of candidate being jointly nominated by two or
more parties, the names of each nominating party have to be presented on the
nomination coupon.
(2) To be
nominated in an individual constituency, a person shall have the proposals of
at least 750 electors with their signatures affixed thereto. Proposals shall
not be made except on a "nomination coupon" as indicated in the
Schedule affixed hereto. If a candidate has been nominated separately as
individual and also party candidate, the nominating coupons cannot be merged.
An elector may propose only one candidate in one individual constituency, and
only in the individual constituency in which he/she is resident. In the case of
an elector proposing more than one candidates, each of
his nominations shall become void.
(3) Candidates
in territorial constituencies may be nominated by parties on territorial lists.
A territorial list may be drawn up by the party which in a territorial
constituency has, in one-fourth, of the individual constituencies but in at
least two individual constituencies, presented the number of candidates
specified by the Schedule hereto. The right to present a list of candidates
shall not be prejudiced by a party candidate having withdrawn in an individual
constituency after the first poll.
(4) A national
list may be presented by the party which has drawn up lists in at least seven
territorial constituencies.
(5) Parties -
in case of their joint individual constituency nomination - may jointly present
territorial and national lists, furthermore they may
combine their lists.
(6) Thrice as
many candidates may be put forward on territorial and national lists as there
are mandates obtainable on those lists. If the number of announced candidates
is smaller than the number of mandates on the list, the remaining mandates
shall remain vacant.
(7) One and the
same person may be put forward as a candidate concurrently in one individual
constituency, on one territorial list and on the national list. If a candidate
has obtained a mandate in the individual constituency, his name shall be
stricken from the territorial or the national list. If he has obtained a
mandate on the territorial list, his name shall be stricken from the national
list.
(8) If a
candidate is eliminated from a party list, he shall be replaced by the next
succeeding candidate.
(9) An elected
representative of the Social Security Selfgovernments cannot be proposed as a
candidate for a parliamentary seat.
Chapter III
DETERMINATION OF ELECTION RESULTS
Art. 7. (1) A candidate in an individual constituency shall become an MP after
the first poll if he/she has obtained more than half the votes validly cast,
provided that more than one half of electors in the constituency have cast
their votes.
(2) If during
the first poll the turnout did not exceed half of electors in the constituency
(invalid poll), during the second poll.
a) all candidates who have done so during the first poll may
stand for election;
b) the candidate having obtained the greatest number of votes validly
cast, provided that the turnout exceeded one fourth of electors in the
constituency, shall become an MP.
(3) If during
the first poll the turnout exceeded one half of electors in the constituency,
but no candidate has obtained more than half the votes validly cast
(unsuccessful poll), during the second poll
a) the
candidates having obtained at least 15 &127; of the votes validly cast
during the first poll may stand for election; if there are not three such
candidates, the three candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes
during the first poll may do so; if any one of the candidates decides to step
down during this time, no other candidate may take his/her place;
b) the candidate having obtained the greatest number of votes
validly cast, provided that the turnout exceeded one fourth of electors in the
constituency, shall become an MP.
(4) abrogated
(5) A
by-election shall be conducted in an individual constituency where, for lack of
candidates, it was impossible to hold the first or second poll.
Art. 8. (1) The candidates on party lists in territorial constituencies shall
obtain mandates in proportion to the number of votes cast, to be calculated in
the manner specified by the Schedule hereto, in the order in which they are
included in the lists, provided that the turnout exceeded one half of electors.
(2) If the
first poll in a territorial constituency is invalid because the turnout did not
exceed one half of electors, all candidates on party lists who have done so
during the first poll may stand for election during the second poll. The
candidates on party lists shall obtain mandates in proportion to the number of
votes cast, to be calculated in the manner specified by the Schedule hereto,
provided that the turnout exceeded one-fourth of electors.
(3) If,
following the calculation in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2), there
remain vacant mandates in a territorial constituency, a mandate shall be
obtained even by a list that received a number of votes smaller than, but
exceeding two-thirds of, those required for a mandate. If there are several
such lists, the mandate shall be obtained by the one that has received the next
greatest number of votes. If after the calculation there still remains a vacant
mandate, it shall be added to those obtainable on the national list.
(4) In the case
of a mandate being obtained under para. (3), the difference between the numbers
of votes required for a mandate and actually received shall be deducted from
the national aggregate of surplus votes obtained by the party putting forward a
candidate.
(5) If,
however, a territorial party-list failed to receive more than two-thirds of
votes required for a mandate in the constituency concerned, or more than 5 % of
the national aggregate of the votes validly cast for the territorial
party-lists, the party-list shall not obtain a mandate even in the case covered
by paragraphs (1) to (3). In this respect only the validly cast votes for the
same party territorial lists have to be aggregated. Parties presenting a common
or combined list do not receive a mandate, if they fail to receive at least 5 %
per party, or in the case of more than three parties, a total of at least 15 %
of the national aggregate of validly cast votes. If a party presented common
candidates, or common or combined lists, with different parties, in two or more
individual, or territorial constituencies, the votes must be aggregated
separately for the common candidates, or common or combined lists, when
aggregating surplus votes and defining the limit percentage, and also when
handing out mandates.
(6) The parties
which notified the combination of their lists at least 8 days before election
shall obtain mandates in proportion to the aggregate votes cast for their
respective lists. The notification to the electoral board shall also indicate
the order in which the candidates are to obtain a mandate. The notification
shall be made public by the electoral board.
(7) The parties
which presented a common list, or combined their respective lists in a
territorial constituency shall, at least 8 days before election, notify to the
electoral board the proportion in which their surplus votes on the common list
or the combined ones are to be taken into account in the national aggregation
of votes.
(8) If two or
more parties have received equal numbers of votes and stand to obtain mandates
with those quantities of votes , but the number of
mandates in the territorial constituency is smaller than that of the parties
having received equal numbers of votes, the mandates shall be distributed in
the order of the ordinal numbers of list.
(9) If no
party-lists are presented in a territorial constituency, the respective
mandates for that territorial constituency shall go on the national list, and
shall be distributed according to the surplus votes.
(10) If the
second round of election shall prove to be unsuccessful in a territorial
constituency, because not even a quarter of the electorate cast their votes,
then the votes cast in the first round of election shall be considered as
surplus votes, and the vacant territorial constituency mandates shall be
distributed on the national list.
Art.9. (1) Candidates on national lists shall obtain mandates in proportion to
the national aggregates of surplus votes and in the order notified. To be counted
as surplus votes are those
a) which were cast, in an individual constituency during the
first valid poll, for party candidates who did not obtain a mandate during
either poll;
b) which were cast for lists, in a territorial constituency
during the valid poll, in a number smaller than required for mandate, or which
exceeded the number of votes required for a mandate.
(2) Votes cast
during an invalid poll shall not be counted as surplus votes under para. (1) and hence shall not be taken into account for purposes of
obtaining mandates on the national list - except for the event of Article 8
para. (10) -. Similarly, the votes cast for the territorial lists of the party
whose votes on those lists and whose national aggregate of votes do not exceed
the percent limit, defined in Article 8 para. (5), of the votes cast for the
territorial lists of all parties. In this respect only those nationally cast
valid votes may be aggregated which were cast for the same parties - or the
territorial lists of same parties presenting common or combined territorial
lists -.
(3) The parties
which notified the combination of their national lists at least 8 days before
election shall obtain mandates in proportion to the aggregate surplus votes for
their respective lists. The notification to the National Electoral Board shall
also indicate the order in which their candidates are to obtain mandates. The
notification shall be mode public by the National Electoral Board.
PART III
ELECTORAL PROCEDURES
Chapter IV - Chapter X abrogated
Chapter XI
BY-ELECTIONS
Art. 46. (1) A by-election shall be held in an
individual constituency if the second poll were to be invalid, or the mandate
of an MP in an individual constituency has been ceased.
(2) abrogated
(3) The rules
of general elections shall, with the differences made in this Chapter, apply,
mutatis mutandis, to by-elections.
(4) The results
of a by-election shall not affect the mandates on the national lists.
(5) In cases
where the mandate of an MP on a territorial or a national list has ceased, it
shall be obtained, among the party candidates originally included on the lists,
by the persons named by the party concerned. Within 30 days of the emergence of
the reason therefore, the party shall notify the name of the new MP to the
competent electoral board.
Chapter XII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Art. 47. (1). Following the registration (Art. 6 (4), candidates shall not be
called up for military service regular or reserve, or their service shall be
interrupted until the day following election. Elected MPs shall be exempted
from service for the period of their mandate.
(2) In the
course of the employment of this Act, place of residence shall mean the terms
defined in Art. 5. Act LXVI. 1992 on the Registering of Citizens'
Personal Data and Address.
Art. 48. (1) Within 24 hours of the ending of voting, the National Electoral
Board shall make the preliminary election results public through the Hungarian
Radio, the Hungarian Television and the Hungarian Telegraphic Agency, and on
that basis the preliminary results shall be carried by the political dailies of
nation-wide circulation in their next issues.
(2) The final
election results shall be published in Magyar Kцzlцny.
Art. 50. (1) The expenses incurred in connection with state tasks concerning
the preparation and conduct of elections (personnel, physical facilities,
functioning of electoral bodies, electoral registers, prints, transport,
telecommunication, etc.) shall be covered from the state budget to the extent
determined by the Parliament. The State Audit Office shall inform the
Parliament of the utilization of such funds.
(2) The Council
of Ministers shall be empowered to determine the ordinal numbers, seats and
boundaries of individual and territorial constituencies.
Art. 52. The Schedules to this Act shall determine
a) abrogated
b) the number of individual constituencies in the counties and
the capital city as well as the number of mandates obtainable in each
territorial constituency;
c) the number of candidates in individual constituencies
required for the presentation of a territorial list;
d) the procedures for the aggregation of votes and the
establishment of election results;
e) - k)
abrogated
Art. 53. - 55. abrogated
Art. 56. (1) This act shall enter into force on the
day of its promulgation.
(2) - (6)
abrogated