National Election Office

Parliamentary election 2006

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Parliamentary elections in Hungary 2006

The Constitution of the Republic of Hungary declares that the Republic of Hungary is an independent democratic state founded on the rule of law, where supreme power is vested in the people who exercise public sovereignty through their elected representatives as well as directly. The Constitution also provides for the dates of National Assembly elections: the general election of Members of Parliament shall be held in April or May of the fourth year following the election of the previous National Assembly. The President of the Republic sets the effective date of election.

The Act on the election of Members of Parliament adopted in 1989 (hereinafter: the Act) has introduced a two-round, mixed election system in Hungary, which combines the elements of voting for individual constituencies and for a list of candidates.

The Hungarian National Assembly has 386 members: 176 elected in individual constituencies, 152 on regional lists, and 58 on the national list.

Accordingly, the structure of the Hungarian electoral system is the following:

· 176 individual constituencies: the territory of the country has been split into 176 individual constituencies, and one representative from each constituency shall become Member of Parliament.

· 20 regional constituencies: the Act has institutionalized 20 regional constituencies covering the territory of 19 counties and the capital city. In these constituencies, citizens vote for a list of candidates. Maximum 152 mandates shall be allocated from the lists.

· National (compensation) list: From this list, minimum 58 mandates shall be allocated in the ratio of votes cast on the individual candidates of parties getting no mandate and the votes cast on their regional lists but resulting in no mandate either (the two together: surplus votes).

Hungarian citizens have two votes at the parliamentary elections. They can cast one vote on a candidate in the individual constituency and another on the regional list. They cannot vote on the national list directly.

An important element of the electoral system is the mandate threshold, the point of which is that only those parties shall get mandate on regional and national lists that have obtained more than 5% of the valid votes cast on the regional lists at country level.

The candidature system functions as an important screen as well by ensuring that political forces possessing really significant support from the society get seats in the Parliament.

Candidature

1. In the individual constituencies, both independent candidates and party candidates shall collect 750 valid recommendation slips to run for candidacy.

2. The party able to nominate candidates in one quarter of the individual constituencies in the regional constituency, but at least in two individual constituencies, may launch regional list.

3. The party having set regional lists in seven regional constituencies is entitled to launch national list.

The system of allocation of mandates

The individual constituencies are built on the principle of absolute majority i.e. the candidate having obtained more than half of the votes of citizens in the constituency shall become MP. If no candidate has reached this rate in the constituency, another round shall be implemented. The Act does not require absolute majority in the second round i.e. the candidate having obtained the most votes shall get the mandate.

In the regional constituencies, the candidates on the party lists get mandates in the ratio of votes cast and in the order they are listed on the ballot paper (fixed list). Mandates shall be allocated in line with the Hagenbach-Bischoff method, nevertheless, the list that has not reached more than 5% of the valid votes cast on all party lists and consolidated at national level cannot get any mandate.

On the national list (compensation list), parties get mandates in ratio of their surplus votes. Surplus votes are the votes cast in the individual constituencies on candidates entailing no mandate in any round of the election, and the votes cast in regional constituencies in the actual round of the election which have not reached the threshold for getting mandate and which exceeded the number of votes used for obtaining mandate. Mandates shall be allocated by means of the d’Hondt method, nevertheless, the party that has not reached the 5% parliamentary threshold cannot get any mandate on the national list, either.

Outcome of the election of MPs in 2006

Number of seats in the Parliament: 386

Parties	In individual constituencies	On regional lists	On the national list	Total	Ratio of parliamentary mandates
FIDESZ KDNP	68	69	27	164	42,49%
MDF		2	9	11	2,85%
MSZP SZDSZ – THE HUNGARIAN LIBERAL PARTY	6			6	1,55%
MSZP	98	71	17	186	48,19%
SOMOGYÉRT	1			1	0,26%
SZDSZ – THE HUNGARIAN LIBERAL PARTY	3	4	11	18	4,66%
Total	176	146	64	386	100,00%

Composition of the National Assembly

Turnout in Hungary and abroad

Red: Hungary

Green: Foreign representations

Blue: Total

Last modify: 2010.02.11.