Appointment of a member of the Electoral Commission for the elections to the European Parliament and the elections of local government representatives and mayors and of members of minority self-government in a joint procedure

The following electoral commissions shall operate for the elections of members of the European Parliament and of members and mayors of local and minority self-governments by joint procedure (hereinafter referred to as "joint procedure"):

- a polling station commission in each polling station (hereinafter referred to as the "PSC");

- at the municipal level, the local election commission (hereinafter referred to as the "LEC");

- in the counties, the territorial election commission (hereinafter:TEC), in the capital, the Metropolitan Election Commission (hereinafter: MEC);

- the National Election Commission (hereinafter referred to as the NEC), with national competence and jurisdiction.

The duties and powers of the polling station commission in a settlement with only one electorate shall be exercised by the local election committee (LEC).

Election commissions are made up of elected and delegated members. The nominating organisations that have nominated a list are entitled to appoint a member of the election commission.

It is in the fundamental interest of nominating organisations to delegate members to all election commissions, so that they can personally monitor and facilitate the lawful conduct of elections and take an active part in the resolution of any disputes.

Appointment to election commissions

The common procedure has not changed the rule that it is not possible to appoint a member to an election commission in the election of a national minority self-government, only an observer can be delegated. Information on the appointment of a national minority observer is available here.

Delegation to election commissions under the joint procedure is only possible on the basis of the EP election or the local government election.

The nominating organisations that have drawn up a joint list are jointly entitled to appoint the members of the above election commissions.

Members may only be appointed to the NEC by virtue of the right to stand on the list for the EP elections. In this case, however, nominating organisations which have a joint list with a party with a parliamentary group in the National Assembly and which have already appointed a member to the NEC by right of the parliamentary group are also entitled to appoint members.

Conditions for delegation

A mandated member of the election commission can be a candidate for local government or EP elections.

Conflict of interest

The below cannot be delegated members of the election commission:

• President of the Republic
• Speaker of th House
• MP,
• deputy mayor,
• notary,
• member of another election commission, member of an election office,
• professional and contract soldiers, military officer candidates, military non-commissioned officer candidates, and volunteer reserve soldiers on active service with the Hungarian Defence Forces, and
• a candidate.

The delegated member of the election commission shall declare in writing at the latest before taking the oath that he/she has no conflict of interest. The member of the election commission, alternate member shall immediately disclose any conflict of interest against him/her to the head of the election office operating alongside the election commission and shall announce it at the next meeting of the election commission.

Announcement of the delegate member

Members appointed to the NEC, the TEC or the LEC must be announced to the chairman of the competent election commission by 4 p.m. on the 9th day before the vote at the latest.

Members appointed to the PSC and to the LEC in single-member municipalities must also be announced to the head of the local election office by 4 p.m. on the 9th day before the vote.

If, due to the large number of voters who have re-registered, the PSC has been supplemented by the LEO, the deadline for announcing the appointment of additional members shall expire at 4 p.m. on the 2nd day before the vote. The head of the local election office shall immediately notify the persons entitled to be elected of this possibility.

The notification must include

- the name of the commissioner (and, in the case of a nominating body, the name of its representative),

- the name and personal identification of the delegate, and

- the designation of the electoral commission (to which the mandate is addressed). 

There is no prescribed form for the notification, which is to be formulated by the nominating organisation itself, with the proviso that the notification must contain all the information required by Ve. 30, paragraph (3). For the reasons described above, there is therefore no legal obstacle to the nominating organisation submitting its declaration in block form (e.g. in tabular form).

In addition to the above, it is also advisable to provide the direct contact details (e-mail and telephone number) of the person you have appointed, so that the election office can contact him or her. The mandate document must be signed by the representative of the nominating organisation.

The election office checks the voting rights of the delegate member. If the mandate does not comply with the conditions laid down by law, the chairman of the election commission shall refer the matter to the election commission. The election commission shall decide within three days of the notification whether to accept or reject the mandate. In the case of a delegated member of the polling station commission, the head of the local election office shall reject the mandate if it does not meet the conditions laid down by law. 

The nominee declaration document and the declaration of conflict of interest of the nominee must be submitted on paper in original or certified by electronic signature by e-mail or e-signature 

 - in the case of a mandate to the NEC, to the NBI;

- to the TEC/MEC in the case of an assignment to TEO/MEO;

- in the case of a mandate to the LEC or the PSC  to the competent LEO

If submitted electronically, the signature of the representative of the nominating organisation(s) of the contracting entity must be included on the mandate, certified by a qualified electronic signature, an advanced electronic signature or an authenticated document authentication service, with the proviso that the electronic signatory must be authorised to represent the nominating organisation. In the case of submission by e-filing, the declaration attached as an annex must also be authenticated. The same requirement applies to the declaration of conflict of interest submitted electronically. 

The documents of the mandates to the PSCs may be submitted only in person (by the representative of the nominating organisation or his/her proxy) to the parliamentary constituency election office of the local election office. 

The contact details of the election offices can be found here.

Taking an oath or vow 

The mandated member shall take the oath or vow within 5 days of his/her notification, or in the case of a member of the PSC, no later than the 2nd day before the vote. A member of the PSC/LEC shall swear an oath or affirmation before the Mayor, a member of the TEC/MECbefore the President of the County Assembly/Mayor General, and a member of the NEC before the Speaker of the National Assembly, in accordance with the wording of the Act on the Oaths and Oath-taking of Certain Public Officials. The oath or vow may be taken only in person (see Order No Kvk.III.37.799/2020/3).

The most important legal effect of taking an oath or affirmation of allegiance is that the member of the electoral commission can only exercise his or her rights afterwards.

Termination of office of members of the election commission, filling of a vacancy 

The mandate of the mandated member of the election commission shall last until the results of the election related to the nomination or list creation that is the legal basis of the mandate become final.

 The mandate of a member of the election commission shall end beyond the above-mentioned period: 

 - if the legal conditions of the mandate have ceased to exist,

- if the election commission has established the conflict of interest of its member,

- by resignation,

- if the mandate of the member elected is revoked by the person who appointed him,

- if the list drawn up by the nominating organisation which mandated the mandated member is eliminated,

- by the death of the member.

In the event of the termination of the mandate of a mandated member, the nominating body concerned may appoint a new member, except where the list on which the mandate was based has been eliminated.