Elections in Hungary
Encyclopedia
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.
are not elected by the general public but by deputies.
(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.
After the polls close:
After the polls close:
of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány
.
based on the Nice treaty.
The latest EP election was the European Parliament election, 2009 (Hungary)
that took place on 7 June, 2009.
National Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly or Diet is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 386 members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is based on a complex system involving both area and list election; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to enter list members...
, and local elections to elect local authorities.
Presidential elections
Presidential election in HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
are not elected by the general public but by deputies.
General elections
The National AssemblyNational Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly or Diet is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 386 members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is based on a complex system involving both area and list election; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to enter list members...
(Országgyűlés) has 386 members, elected for a four-year term. 176 members are elected in single-seat constituencies, 152 by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in multi-seat constituencies and there are 58 so-called compensation seats. For the latter two, an election threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
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 turnoutVoter turnoutVoter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
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 enter the second round (a kind of runoff votingTwo-round systemThe two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
). - 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
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 2 seats short of the former ruling party.Local elections
Elections for mayors and municipalities occur every four years.Latest local elections
The last election of local authorities took place in 2006 amidst the protests and demonstrations against the government2006 protests in Hungary
The 2006 protests in Hungary were a series of anti-government protests triggered by the release of Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány's private speech in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, and had done nothing worth mentioning in the...
of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány
Ferenc Gyurcsány
Ferenc Gyurcsány is a Hungarian politician. He was the sixth Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009.He was nominated to take that position on 25 August 2004 by the Hungarian Socialist Party , after Péter Medgyessy resigned due to a conflict with the Socialist Party's coalition partner...
.
European Parliament elections
Hungary delegates 22 members to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
based on the Nice treaty.
The latest EP election was the European Parliament election, 2009 (Hungary)
European Parliament election, 2009 (Hungary)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Hungary was the election of the delegation from Hungary to the European Parliament in 2009. Hungary delegated 22 members to the European Parliament based on the Nice treaty and the election took place on the 7th of June.-Candidates:Among the candidates...
that took place on 7 June, 2009.