(1) In order to distribute the counsellor mandates, the constituency electoral bureau shall establish the electoral threshold of the constituency, representing 5% of the total number of votes validly cast in that constituency. In the case of political alliances or electoral alliances, 2% shall be added to the 5% threshold for the second member of the alliance. For alliances with at least three members, the electoral threshold is 8%.

(2) The electoral threshold is equal to the integer, without decimals, nonrounded, resulting from multiplying the percentage points set under paragraph (1) by the total number of votes validly cast in an electoral constituency. 

(3) Mandate distribution shall be done by taking into consideration only those political parties, organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, political alliances and electoral alliances having reached the electoral threshold stipulated under paragraph (1), and independent candidates having reached the electoral quotient stipulated under point a) of paragraph (4).

(4) The distribution of counsellor mandates shall be carried out as follows: 

a) in the fi rst stage, the constituency electoral bureau shall establish the number of mandates to be allotted to each list of candidates, as well as to the independent candidates, based on the electoral quotient, which is equal to the non-rounded integer, without decimals, determined by dividing the total number of validly cast votes for all the lists of candidates and for the independent candidates having reached the electoral threshold by the total number of counsellors in that electoral constituency; the constituency electoral bureau shall distribute to each list as many mandates as the number of times the electoral quotient is included in the total number of votes validly cast for that list; also, the independent candidate having obtained a number of votes at least equal to the electoral quotient shall be declared elected. The votes remaining after the mandate distribution, as well as those lower than the electoral quotient shall be considered unused votes for each list of candidates of political parties, political alliances and electoral alliances;

b) if a political party, political alliance or electoral alliance or organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities taking part in the elections has been allotted, based on the electoral quotient, more mandates than the number of candidates enlisted, the extra mandates received shall become available and be distributed in the second stage, according to the provisions of paragraphs (13) to (18);

c) in the second stage, the constituency electoral bureau shall distribute the unassigned mandates, based on a table including the political parties, political alliances, electoral alliances and organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities having reached the electoral threshold, in the decreasing order of the number of votes unused; the unassigned mandates shall be distributed to the political parties, political alliances and electoral alliances, in the order of their registration in the table, one for each political party, political alliance and electoral alliance. If all mandates cannot be distributed, the operation shall be repeated until they are exhausted. If one or more organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, other than the Hungarian one, have reached the electoral threshold, but not the electoral quotient, thus obtaining no mandate in the fi rst stage, the provisions of paragraph (8) shall apply for the mandate distribution.

(5) If one or several organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities reach both the electoral threshold and the electoral quotient, they shall take part in the mandate distribution both in the fi rst stage and in the second stage, within the limits of the votes remained unused, as any other political party. The independent candidates having obtained a number of votes validly cast lower than the electoral quotient set shall not take part in the second stage of counsellor mandate distribution. If a political party, political alliance or electoral alliance has been allotted, in the fi rst stage, a number of mandates equal to the number of candidatures on the list, it shall not participate in the second stage of the mandate distribution even if it has unused votes.

(6) The votes remaining after the distribution of the mandates in the first stage, as well as the votes validly cast for the political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances that, although having reached the electoral threshold, have not participated in the fi rst stage of the mandate distribution because the number of votes received is lower than the electoral quotient shall be considered unused votes for each list of candidates of the political parties, political alliances, electoral alliances and organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities.

(7) If none of the organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, other than the Hungarian one, has obtained any mandate, a counsellor mandate shall be allotted, from those remaining after the fi rst stage, to the organisation having reached the electoral threshold and having obtained the highest number of votes validly cast from among all these organisations. 

(8) In the second stage, the electoral bureau shall fi rstly allot, where appropriate, a mandate to an organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities, other than the Hungarian one, if, in the fi rst stage, no organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities has obtained any mandate. 

(9) If no organisation of the Hungarian minority has obtained any mandate, the provisions of paragraph (8) are duly applicable to the latter as well. 

(10) If there are two or more organisations with the same number of validly cast votes, the selection is done by random draw.

(11) The president of the constituency electoral bureau shall organize the random draw immediately after ascertaining the impossibility of applying the selection criteria set out in paragraph (1) for the registration of political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances on the list, in the presence of the majority of its members. 

(12) The procedure shall be mentioned as such in the report drawn up by the members of the constituency electoral bureau in the column “Brief account of the objections and challenges fi led and the decisions rendered by the constituency electoral bureau that are fi nal”, with a clear indication of the organisation elected by random draw.

(13) After the mandate distribution, where the conditions set out in paragraph (8) are met, by the organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities, other than the Hungarian one, the electoral bureau shall allot a mandate to each political party, political alliance and electoral alliance having reached the electoral threshold, in the order of their registration in a decreasingly ordered table, depending on the number of unused votes; if all mandates cannot be distributed, the operation shall be repeated until they are exhausted.

(14) If the conditions set out in paragraph (8) are not met, and if at least one organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities, other than the Hungarian one, of the organisations having reached the electoral threshold, also meets the condition of the electoral quotient, respectively it has received mandates in the fi rst stage, then it shall participate in the second stage of the mandate distribution as well, within the limits of the votes remained unused.  The other organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, having not reached the electoral quotient and, therefore, having received no mandate in the fi rst stage, shall not take part in the second stage redistribution. 

(15) If, during the second stage of the mandate distribution, a political party, political alliance or electoral alliance, organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities completes its number of mandates according to “the list of candidatures” submitted, before the exhaustion of all the mandates available, the respective organisation shall no longer receive any more mandates; the distribution of the remaining available mandates shall be done by continuing with the other organisations on the lists, until their full distribution.

(16) If during the operations stipulated under paragraphs (13) and (14), it is found that two or more political parties, organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, political alliances or electoral alliances have the same number of unused votes, before the last mandate to be distributed is assigned, such a mandate shall be distributed to the political party, political alliance, organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities or electoral alliance having obtained the highest number of validly cast votes.

(17) If the number of validly cast votes is equal, the mandate shall be distributed by random draw; the president of the constituency electoral bureau shall organize the random draw immediately after ascertaining the impossibility of applying the selection criteria set out in paragraph (7) for the registration of political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances on the list, in the presence of the majority of its members.

(18) The procedure shall be mentioned as such in the report drawn up by the members of the constituency electoral bureau in the column “Brief account of the objections and challenges fi led and the decisions rendered by the constituency electoral bureau that are fi nal”, with a clear indication of the organisation elected by random draw. 

(19) If during the operations stipulated under paragraph (4), it is found that two or more political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances have the same number of unused votes, before the last mandate to be distributed is assigned, such a mandate shall be distributed to the political party, political alliance or electoral alliance having obtained the highest number of validly cast votes; if the number of validly cast votes is equal, the distribution of the mandate shall be done by random draw.

(20) The president of the constituency electoral bureau shall organize the random draw immediately after ascertaining the impossibility of applying the selection criteria for the registration of political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances on the list, in the presence of the majority of its members.

(21) The procedure shall be mentioned as such in the report drawn up by the members of the constituency electoral bureau in the column “Brief account of the objections and challenges fi led and the decisions rendered by the constituency electoral bureau that are fi nal”, with a clear indication of the organisation elected by random draw.

(22) The mandates shall be assigned by the constituency electoral bureau in the order of registration of the candidates on the list, and it shall begin with the list of candidates for which the most votes have been cast. 

(23) If a political party, political alliance or electoral alliance should be assigned more mandates than the number of candidates enlisted, the remaining mandates shall be assigned to the other lists of candidates or to independent candidates, according to the provisions of paragraph (4).

(24) If, following the first stage of distribution, there are still mandates left to distribute, and, for the second stage, there are political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances having received at least a mandate in the first stage and having no unused votes, such shall be registered on the list of the political organisations entering the second stage of distribution, with 0 votes unused.

(25) If two or more political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances have 0 unused votes, their registration on the list shall be done based on the number of validly cast votes obtained.

(26) If no differentiation can be made between the political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances even by using the criterion set out in paragraph (3), their registration on the lists shall be done by random draw.

(27) The president of the constituency electoral bureau shall organize the random draw immediately after ascertaining the impossibility of applying the selection criteria set out in paragraph (25) for the registration of political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances on the list, in the presence of the majority of its members.

(28) The procedure shall be mentioned as such in the report drawn up by the members of the constituency electoral bureau in the column “Brief account of the objections and challenges fi led and the decisions rendered by the constituency electoral bureau that are fi nal”, with a clear indication of the organisation elected by random draw.

(29) If no political party, political alliance or electoral alliance reaches the electoral threshold, and the number of independent candidates having reached the electoral quotient is lower than the number of counsellor mandates in that constituency, the difference in mandates shall be distributed to the first three political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances, in the decreasing order of the number of votes validly cast for each of them. One mandate shall be distributed to each political party, political alliance or electoral alliance. The operation shall be repeated until all mandates are exhausted. If two or more political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances thus selected have the same number of validly cast votes, and if it is impossible to differentiate between the fi rst three, the differentiation shall be made by random draw.

(30) The president of the constituency electoral bureau shall organize the random draw immediately after ascertaining the impossibility of applying the selection criteria set out in paragraph (29) for the registration of political parties, political alliances or electoral alliances on the list, in the presence of the majority of its members.

(31) The procedure shall be mentioned as such in the report drawn up by the members of the constituency electoral bureau in the column “Brief account of the objections and challenges fi led and the decisions rendered by the constituency electoral bureau that are fi nal”, with a clear indication of the organisation elected by random draw.

(32) The provisions of paragraph (29) shall also apply if none of the political organisations or independent candidates on the ballot paper reaches the electoral quotient.

(33) The candidates on the lists, that have not been elected, are declared alternates for the respective lists. In case of vacancy of the mandates of counsellors elected on lists of candidates, the alternates shall occupy the vacant positions, in the order in which they are registered on the lists if, until the validation of the mandate for occupying the vacant position, the political parties or organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, on behalf of which the alternates have stood as candidates, shall confi rm, in writing, under the signature of the county managements of the political parties or organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, that the alternates are members of the respective political party or organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities.