President of the Democratic Coalition, Klára Dobrev
The Democratic Coalition (DK) will submit a bill demanding the abolition of voting rights for those living beyond Hungary’s border and the “restoration of the proportional electoral system,” the party’s president Klára Dobrev announced on Sunday morning at an online press conference on Facebook.
Left wing opposition politician added that, unlike previous proposals, this one will be submitted not only after “the change of government, but during the current parliamentary cycle”.
She said that around half a million people living beyond the border have registered to vote in the April elections, which she believes is no coincidence.
The politician said that under Fidesz’s electoral system, dual citizens living abroad can keep Fidesz in power through a postal voting system that is “susceptible to mass electoral fraud”. Meanwhile, Hungarians working in London or Munich, for example, have to queue for hours at diplomatic missions in order to vote, she added.
Fact
Based on recent data, the number of Hungarians living outside Hungary in the Carpathian Basin is estimated at approximately 1.7-2 million. The largest communities are found in Romania (around 1 million), Slovakia (approx. 450,000), Serbia (around 182,321), Ukraine (number unclear due to the ongoing war). The politician references “around half a million” voters across the border, however, she does not specify who she refers to exactly, leaving her statements vague.
It is unclear whether she wants to abolish the voting rights of members of the Hungarian minority with dual citizenship living in neighboring countries, or she would also take the voting rights of those Hungarian citizens who have lived, worked, studied abroad for a longer time. If so, what would be the time-frame before a Hungarian citizen would lose his or her electoral rights.
Her claim that voters who do not live in mainland Hungary are not affected by the consequences of their vote is also highly debatable. Decisions of the Hungarian government, especially with regards to supporting ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries, have a direct impact on national minority rights, such as funding of educational and cultural institutions, or the implementation of cross-border economic and development programs.
The party president also mentioned “Fidesz redrawing the boundaries of electoral districts” and said that the single-round system makes it difficult for parties to run independently. She added that Péter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party (main opposition party – editor’s note), argues that reforming the electoral system is not the most important task and that he has no objection to the voting rights of those living beyond the border.
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Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Kovács Attila
The post Socialist Leader Pushes Bill to Strip Voting Rights From Hungarians Living Abroad appeared first on Hungary Today.
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