Elections in Hungary

Hungary

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Hungary

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Elections in Hungary are held at two levels: general elections to elect the 386 members of the National Assembly, and local elections to elect local authorities.

Presidential elections

Presidential election in Hungary are not elected by the general public but by deputies.

General elections

The National Assembly (Országgyűlés) has 386 members, elected for a four-year term. 176 members are elected in single-seat constituencies, 152 by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies and there are 58 so-called compensation seats. For the latter two, an election threshold of 5% is in effect.

The general elections in Hungary take place in two rounds, the second round taking place two weeks after the first round.

First round

In the first round, each voter may cast

• one vote for one candidate running for the seat in the single-seat constituency of his/her residence;
• one vote for a party list established in the multi-seat constituency of his/her residence.

After the polls close:

• The result in single-seat constituencies where voter turnout was below 50% is declared invalid, and all candidates for the first round enter the second round.
• Any single-seat constituency where turnout was over 50% and one candidate received over 50% of the votes is won by that candidate, and no second round takes place.
• In all remaining single-seat constituencies (i.e., where turnout exceeded 50% but no candidate received over 50% of votes), the candidates who finished the first three plus any more candidates having received at least 15% of votes may enter the second round (a kind of runoff voting).
• The result for multi-seat constituencies where the turnout was over 50% is produced. (If this means all multi-seat constituencies, the parties passing the election threshold can already be determined together with the distribution of the seats from the multi-seat constituencies.)

Second round

In the second round, each voter may cast

• one vote for one candidate still standing in the single-seat constituency (if the seat wasn't won in the first round);
• one vote for a party list in the multi-seat constituency (if the first round was invalid due to insufficient turnout).

After the polls close:

• Any seats in single-seat constituencies where turnout was below 25%, or where the first two candidates received an equal number of votes, will remain vacant.
• All other single-seat constituencies will be won by the candidate who received the most votes.
• The result of multi-seat constituencies where turnout was below 25% is declared invalid, and the seats from that constituency are added to the compensation seats.
• The parties passing the threshold are identified based on multi-seat constituencies with a valid result. Seats from these constituencies are distributed.
• Parties having passed the threshold are eligible for the compensation seats; these are distributed based on
  • the sum of votes remaining in the multi-seat constituencies after the distribution of the seats, plus
  • the sum of votes cast for losing candidates of each party in the first valid round of each single-seat constituency. (Since the first valid round is taken into account, votes are still counted for a candidate who is eliminated in the first round, or who steps down after a valid first round in favour of another candidate with more chances to win the second round.)

Latest general elections

Main article: Hungarian parliamentary election, 2010

The most recent election in the country resulted in an overwhelming majority win for the opposition party Fidesz, as well the dramatic rise of newcomers Jobbik, who were just two seats short of the former ruling party.

 Summary of the 25 April 2010 National Assembly (Országgyűlés) elections

Parties	Individual votes (1st round)	Individual votes (2nd round)	Regional votes	%	Total votes	Fragmentary votes	Constituency seats	Regional seats	National list seats	Total seats
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union (Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség)	2,729,327	620,232	2,706,292	52.73	3,326,524	135,592	172	87	3	262
Hungarian Socialist Party (Magyar Szocialista Párt, MSZP)	1,087,097	326,361	990,428	19.30	1,316,789	1,221,523	2	28	29	59
Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom)	835,841	141,415	855,436	16.67	996,851	925,252	0	26	21	47
Politics Can Be Different (Lehet Más a Politika)	258,078	43,437	383,876	7.48	427,313	471,305	0	5	11	16
Total	258,078	1,152,693	5,132,531	96.18	6,285,224	2,753,672	176	146	64	386
Source:

Local elections

Elections for mayors and municipalities (Hungarian: Helyi önkormányzati választások) occur every four years.

Latest local elections

Main article: Hungarian local elections, 2006

The last election of local authorities took place in 2006 amidst the protests and demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány.

European Parliament elections

Hungary delegates 22 members to the European Parliament based on the Nice treaty.

The latest EP election was the European Parliament election, 2009 (Hungary) that took place on 7 June, 2009.

See also

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

External links

• National Election Office Hungary
• Politics.hu - English-language resource about Hungarian politics
• NSD: European Election Database - Hungary
• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• Parties and elections