National referendums - National Election Office

National referendum initiatives

2017. december 12. (kedd)

A national referendum is one of the means of the operation of a direct democracy, where every citizen with a right to vote can have a say in important matters affecting his or her country as a whole.

Hungary’s rules on national referendums are laid down in the country’s Fundamental Law and in the act on referendums.

National referendums come in two types in Hungary:

– mandatory referendum
a referendum must be held if it is requested by at least 200,000 voters

– optional referendum
if the referendum is initiated by the President of the Republic, the Government or at least 100,000 voters, it is up to the National Assembly to call a referendum.

To provide voters with all of the relevant details matters proposed to be put out for a referendum are posted at valasztas.hu. This is where you can monitor who has petitioned for national referendums as well as the issues proposed to be voted on.

You can find statistics on referendum initiatives about which decisions have already been made here. The statistics cover referendum initiatives on which decisions have been made since 15 May 2002 to date.

I. National referendum initiative submitted by

Depending on who the petition has been filed by, a proposed referendum may be

based on a voter’s initiative or

a one proposed by the Government or the President of the Republic.

1. Voters’ initiative

A national referendum may be initiated by at least 100,000 voters. The collection of the signatures of voters is coordinated by the organiser of the initiative.

A national referendum initiative may be organised by

any Hungarian citizen of age who has not been disfranchised by the court from exercising his or her voting right and has an address of residence in Hungary or does not have one but has been entered in the central registry at his or her request,

a political party or

some other association in relation to issues of relevance to the activities listed in its instrument of constitution.

An initiative may be promoted by more than one organisers, in which case one individual must be appointed as the one authorised to represent the organisers when communicating with the National Election Commission (NEC) and the National Election Office (NEO).

2. Referendum initiated by the Government or the President of the Republic

A national referendum may also be initiated by the Government or the President of the Republic. However, while a voter’s initiative may be either mandatory or optional, depending on the number of signatures collected, the Government’s or the President’s initiative can only be optional, i.e. the National assembly is free to determine whether or not to ordain a referendum.
II. Formulation of the question on which a referendum is held

The following requirements apply to the content of a question up for a referendum:

1. The question must be related to issues within the scope of responsibilities and competence of the National assembly.

National referendums may be held about any matter falling within the functions and powers of the National Assembly.

However, there are so-called prohibited subjects on which no referendum may be held, despite coming within the National Assembly’s scope of responsibilities and competence. No national referendum may be held on

amendments to the Fundamental Law;

the content of the Acts on the central budget, the implementation of the central budget, central taxes, duties, contributions, customs duties or the central conditions for local taxes;

the content of the Acts on the elections of Members of the National Assembly, local government representatives and mayors or Members of the European National assembly;

any obligation arising from international treaties;

person- and organisation-related matters falling within the competence of the National Assembly;

the dissolution of National Assembly;

the dissolution of a representative body;

declaration of a state of war, state of national crisis and state of emergency and declaration and extension of a state of preventive defence;

any matter related to participation in military operations;

the granting of amnesty.

2. The question must be clear and straightforward.

Another important requirement concerning a question to be put out for referendum is that it should be clear and unambiguous for both voters and the National Assembly.

a) Clarity for the voter

A question is clear if

it can be clearly understood: if it is in line with the rules of Hungarian spelling and its meaning is clear,

its wording is exact: it can be interpreted only in one way and can thus be answered unambiguously,

its consequences are clear (so-called predictability): when making their decisions voters can assess the effects and likely consequences of the referendum.

It must be emphasised that precise wording means that the question to be voted on should be generally understandable, in other words, the individual initiating a referendum needs not use the relevant technical language. In case however, the individual initiating a referendum chooses to use technical terms, he or she must strive to make the question understandable for all voters.

b) Clarity for the legislator

It is important that the question should be clear for the National Assembly as well, so that it can establish whether it is under an obligation to adopt legislation and if so, with what content it is obliged to adopt legislation.

3. The wording and the content of the question should be in line with the constitutional objective of the legal institution of national referendum.

A national referendum is an institution of direct exercise of power, with the constitutional objective of having the people – as the holder of power – make decisions concerning the most important matters affecting the state of the country. A question cannot be put out for referendum if it includes any expression or content element that is not worthy of its institution.

III. Submission of the proposed referendum question

1. Collection of signatures of support

At least 20 and not more than 30 voters’ signatures (so called signatures of support) need to be collected for initiating a referendum. Those who have a right to vote in the legislative elections, i.e. any Hungarian citizen of age who has not been banned by the court from exercising his or her voting right and has an address of residence in Hungary or does not have one but has been entered in the central registry at his or her request, may give his or her support to an initiative by attaching their signatures to the document.

2.Submission of the proposed referendum question

A question on which a referendum is proposed to be held must be submitted to the NEC.

a) in person, at 1054 Budapest, Alkotmány u. 3.:

a private individual organiser may submit an initiative in person or by a proxy,
in the case of a political party or any other association the initiative may be submitted by
the legal representative, or
an individual authorised to represent the legal representative (proxy)

b) by mail, addressed to 1397 Budapest, Pf.: 547.

Since the signatures of support may only be attached to the original document, an initiative for a referendum cannot be submitted by e-mail or fax.

The NEO publishes the questions that have been submitted, together with the name of the organiser and the date of submission here.

The following are required upon the submission of an initiative for a referendum:

Private individual, organiser	Political party or any other association organiser
A document addressed to the NEC containing the question on which a referendum is proposed to be held, and:
o the name of the organiser, o his or her home address, o his or her personal identification code, or in the case of a voter who has no personal identification code the number of the document proving his or her Hungarian citizenship, o a declaration stating that he or she submits the initiative as a private individual, o the organiser’s signature in his or her own hand,	o the official name of the political party or association; o the declaration of the legal representative of the political party or association (if the initiative is submitted by multiple parties and/or organisations the declaration of the legal representative of each) concerning the submission of the initiative; o the legal representative’s signature in his or her own hand; o in the case of an ‘other organisation’ the instrument of constitution in force at the time of the submission of the initiative
the signatures of support (at least 20, not more than 30)

Although it is not a mandatory requirement, the organiser is advised to collect the 20-30 signatures of support on the following signature sheets to make sure that all of the necessary data are submitted:

signature sheet for the collection of signatures of voters with personal identification codes (download from here),
signature sheet for the collection of signatures of external voters – Hungarians living outside the borders of Hungary – with no personal identification codes (download from here),

IV. Verification of the question

1. Preliminary assessment (5 days) – only in the case of voters’ initiatives

The preliminary assessment of a voter’s initiative is carried out by the President of the NEO, checking whether

the referendum initiative is in line with the legal requirements concerning its format (such as the necessary number of valid signatures of support;

the question is in line with the constitutional purpose of a national referendum;

the criteria for the prohibition of the submission of questions for referendums with the same subjects are met.

Based on the preliminary assessment the President of the NEO

submits the referendum question to the NEC, if it is in line with the applicable legal regulations;

adopts a resolution rejecting the question, if the initiative fails to meet any of the relevant legal requirements.

If the question is rejected by the President of the NEO, the resolution is sent to the organiser directly (by e-mail/fax if possible) and by mail. The NEO discloses the decision at www.valasztas.hu as well.

Repeated submission of a question

No legal remedy is available against the resolution of the President of the National Election Office. However, an organiser may re-submit a revised initiative within 15 days of the communication of the resolution.

Upon re-submission the NEC places the referendum question on its agenda within 30 days of its re-submission (unless it is not backed up by the necessary – at least 20 – valid signatures of support).

2. In-depth examination (30 days)

The in-depth examination of a question to be put out for a referendum is carried out by the NEC within 30 days of its submission, to see whether the referendum initiative is in line with the format and content requirements prescribed by law.

Based on its findings the NEC may:

validate the referendum question, if it meets the legal requirements laid down in the Fundamental Law and the Referendum Act;

reject the initiative without an in-depth examination if it contains any obscene expression or any other expression shocking in any other way.

refuse to validate the referendum question if it fails to meet any of the relevant legal requirements, because, for example

the matter does not come within the competence of the National Assembly;

the question has to do with any of the subjects on which no referendum may be held according to the Fundamental Law;

the submission of the question was not in line with the requirements prescribed in the Referendum Act;

the question is ambiguous;

the question was submitted during the period during which no question of the same subject may be submitted.

A question of a subject the same as that of an initiative already rejected cannot be verified after

the NEC’s final and binding resolution establishing that the number of valid signatures collected to back up a question on the same subject, already submitted and validated, has reached at least two hundred thousand, or

the National Assembly has ordered, by a valid resolution, a referendum on the basis of an initiative submitted by the President of the Republic, the Government or one supported by more than one hundred thousand but less than two hundred thousand valid signatures.

The resolution adopted by the NEC

is transmitted, on the day of its adoption, directly (by e-mail/fax) and

also by mail

to the organiser. The commission’s resolution is posted on the day of its adoption at www.valasztas.hu. Once the NEC has verified the question, it publishes its decision in Hungarian Official Gazette. A resolution refusing the requested verification is also published in a communication in the same.

3. Legal remedy

A petition for a revision may be submitted – addressed to the Curia – against the NEC’s resolution concerning the verification, making sure that it is received by the National Election Commission within 15 days of the disclosure of the resolution at www.valasztas.hu.

in person, at 1054 Budapest, Alkotmány u. 3.;

by mail, addressed to 1397 Budapest, Pf.:547 or

electronically to nvb@nvi.hu.

Legal representation is a mandatory requirement in the revision procedure. An individual having a certificate of the Hungarian professional examination in law may proceed in his or her own case without being represented by an attorney. When the petition for a revision is submitted electronically, the qualified electronic signature of the legal representative must be attached to the electronic document being submitted. The court proceeding is subject to the payment of a specific duty but the individual submitting the request for legal remedy has a right of prenotation of duty.

The petition for revision is assessed and decided on by the Curia within 90 days, during which it

a) upholds, or

b) changes the NEC resolution.

The resolution is posted on the day of its adoption at www.kuria-birosag.hu. The Curia’s decision is also published in Hungarian Official Gazette, unless the NEC resolution refusing to validate the question is upheld, in which case the communication on the resolution is published in Hungarian Official Gazette.

No legal remedy may be sought for against the Curia’s decision.

b) Revision in the case of the initiative’s rejection without an in-depth examination (30 days)

If the initiative has been rejected by the National Election Commission without an in-depth examination because it contains an obscene expression or any other expression that is shocking in any other way, the Curia makes its decision on the petition for a revision within 30 days. The Curia upholds the NEC’s resolution or orders the Commission to conduct another procedure.

Verification of a referendum question if it is initiated by a voter
V. Collection of signatures

1. Requesting signature sheets

A voter’s initiative may, after the final and binding verification of the question, be signed on the signature sheet issued by the NEC. The NEC features the question proposed for referendum on the signature sheets and attaches a specific individual serial number to each sheet. This renders the signature sheet specific and identifiable, which cannot be copied or counterfeited.

Request for sheets must be submitted by the organiser, specifying the exact number of sheets required for the collection of signatures. The organiser is advised to submit his or her request for signature sheets immediately when the decision on the verification of the question becomes final and binding. The NEC will issue the requested sheets immediately, but within a maximum of five days.

The organiser can, at any time during the period for collecting the signatures, request additional signature sheets.

Separate signature sheets are to be signed by voters having personal identification codes and by voters without personal identification codes. Signatures attached in breach of this requirement will be invalidated.

2. Collection of signatures

Signatures may be collected for 120 days after receipt of the sheets.

a) The voter signing the sheet

Any Hungarian citizen of age, who has not been disfranchised by the court from exercising his or her voting right and has an address of residence in Hungary or does not have one but has been entered in the central registry at his or her request, may support a national referendum initiative, by attaching his or her signature.

The following details of the voter must be entered in the signature sheet:

family name and surname, in a legible form,

personal identification code or

in the case of a voter without a personal identification code, the number of the certificate of his or her Hungarian citizenship (passport, certificate of naturalisation or certificate of citizenship), and

mother’s name at birth.

Moreover, the voter must sign the signature sheet in his or her own hand.

It is important that voters enter their data correctly because only signatures whose data in the sheet correspond to those held in the central registry can be accepted as valid when they are verified. This rule is applied in order to ensure the lawfulness of the referendum: matching data prove that the initiative was actually signed by the person authorised to do so.

A voter may give his or her support to an initiative by one signature only: any further signature of the same voter will be invalid.

b) The person collecting signatures

Anyone with a personal identification code or a certificate of Hungarian citizenship (valid ID card, passport and driving licence issued by Hungarian authorities) may collect signatures.

The individual collecting signatures must also enter the following details in the signature sheet:

name and

personal identification code or

number of his or her certificate of Hungarian citizenship, and

signature.

It is very important that the individual collecting signatures enters his or her data correctly in the signature sheet because if the required data are not correct or complete, all of the signatures of support on the same sheet will be invalidated.

3. The location of signature collection

Signatures may be collected anywhere without harassing voters, with the following exceptions. No signature may be collected

during working hours, at the workplace of the person collecting or providing the signature, while fulfilling obligations to perform work,

from persons in service in the Hungarian Armed Forces or in a central administration body at their service post or while they are performing their duty,

on means of public transport,

on the official premises of state, local governments and minority self-government bodies,

on the premises of healthcare providers,

in higher education and public education institutions.

The above restriction is applied in order to rule out any influence on voters decision on whether or not to sign the sheet, by excluding locations where the voter requested to sign may be vulnerable against the one collecting signatures.

4. Voluntary signature

Neither money, no any other benefit may be given or promised to the voter in exchange for his or her signature, and the voter must not ask for or accept money or any other benefit, or the promise of such, for his or her signature.

The provision of remuneration for the persons collecting signatures by the organiser, for the collection of signatures, is not prohibited.

5. Suspension of the collection of signatures

The collection of signatures is suspended during between the fortieth day before and after the day of the general election of

Members of Parliament,

Members of the European Parliament,

local government representatives and mayors, and representatives of national minority governments

If the organiser does not finish the collection of signatures by the fortieth day preceding the day of an election, he or she must submit to the NEO all of the signature sheets requested (those containing the signatures collected by such time and those without any signature yet) by the thirty ninth day preceding the election date at the latest. If the organiser fails to fulfil this obligation the NEC will charge a fine ex officio, in an amount of HUF 1000 for each signature sheet not submitted. Another legal consequence of failing to meet the deadline in addition to being fined is invalidation of the signatures contained in the sheets not submitted.

The collection of signatures may be continued on the fortieth day following the election day, when the NEO issues the organiser with new signature sheets.

6. If signatures are being collected for multiple referendum questions on the same subject

No further signature sheets may be provided for the organiser and the ones already issued must be handed over to the NEO if

the NEC’s has established, by its final and binding resolution, that the number of valid signatures collected to back another question on the same subject, already submitted and validated, has reached at least two hundred thousand, or

the National Assembly has already ordered, by a final and binding resolution, a referendum on the same subject on the basis of the initiative of the President of the Republic, the Government or a voters’ initiative with one hundred thousand valid signatures.

7. Submission of the signature sheets

The signature sheets issued by the NEO shall be submitted by the organiser (or the person authorised by the organiser) to the NEO within 120 days of receipt, on one occasion, when – not later than at 4.00 p.m. on the 120th day – all of the signature sheets taken over by the organiser, that is, the signature sheets

with signatures and

those without signatures

must equally be submitted to the NEO. If the organiser fails to do so, the NEO will charge it a fine of HUF 1000 per sheet. No excuse shall be accepted for the organiser’s failure to meet the deadline.

If the organiser submits the signatures he or she has collected earlier than the 120th day, he or she may submit the remaining sheets within the 120-day time limit. Since the sheets issued by the NEO may only be submitted once, the signatures on the remaining sheets, if any, cannot be verified and will thus be invalid, but in this way the organiser will not be fined.

Upon the submission of the signature sheets a declaration must be made concerning the number of signatures or the number of signature sheets being submitted.

The signature sheets taken over by the organiser shall be submitted even if the organiser failed to collect the necessary number of signatures or has decided not to request the ordering of a referendum.
VI. Legal remedy concerning the collection and checking of signatures

If the voter or political party concerned (or any other natural or legal person involved in the case) finds that any legal regulation pertaining to the collection or checking of signatures has been violated, the voter or the party (or other natural or legal person) may submit an objection in writing – delivering it in person, by mail, fax or e-mail – to the NEC within 5 days of the violation. If the last day of the deadline falls on a day that is not a working day, the deadline shall expire at 4.00 p.m. on the first subsequent working day. The contact data of the NEC are to be found here .

An objection shall include:

identification of the violation (specifying the legal regulation, the article and the paragraph concerned),

evidence of the violation (e.g. declaration, record, photo, witness testimony, tangible evidence),

the name and home address (registered office) of the person/entity submitting the objection and, if it is different, his/its postal address for receipt of notification,

the personal identification code of the person submitting the objective or if the voter living abroad without a home address in Hungary does not have a personal identification code, the type and number of his/her document proving his/her Hungarian citizenship or, in the case of an organisation, the number of court registration.

An objection shall be adjudged by the NEC within 5 days. If the last day of the deadline falls on a day that is not a working day, the deadline shall expire at 4.00 p.m. on the first subsequent working day.

A petition against the NEC’s decision may be submitted to the Curia within 5 days of its adoption. The request for a revision may be submitted in a letter or in the form of an electronic document to NEC, addressed to the Curia. The required contact data are to be found here.

Representation by an attorney is a mandatory requirement in the court proceedings. An individual having a certificate of the Hungarian professional examination in law may proceed in his or her own case without being represented by an attorney. If the request for a revision is submitted electronically, the qualified electronic signature of the legal representative must be attached to the electronic document being submitted. The court proceeding is subject to the payment of a specific duty but the individual submitting the request for revision by court has a right of prenotation of duty.

The Curia shall make its decision on the request for legal remedy within 5 days. If the last day of the deadline falls on a day that is not a working day, the deadline shall expire at 4.00 p.m. on the first subsequent working day. No legal remedy may be sought for against the Curia’s decision.
VII. Information of the Speaker of the House about the outcome of the verification of signatures

If the number of valid signatures equals at least one hundred thousand, the Chairman of the NEC informs the Speaker of the House about the outcome of the signature check, on the first working day following the day on which the resolution establishing it becomes final and binding.
VIII. Ordering of a referendum

The Speaker of the House announces the initiative on the first plenary session following his receipt of the information from the Chairman of the NEC. Thereafter, the National Assembly may adopt the following decisions within 30 days:

If at least 200,000 valid signatures have been submitted (which is the basis of a mandatory referendum), the National Assembly must ordain a referendum.

If the number of valid signatures is between 100,000 and 200,000, or if the referendum has been initiated by the Government or the President of the Republic (which is the basis of an optional referendum), it is up to the National Assembly whether or not it orders a referendum.

The resolution ordaining a referendum is published in Hungarian Official Gazette.
IX. Instituting the Constitutional Court’s proceedings

If the National Assembly

has ordained a national referendum, or

has refused to ordain a mandatory referendum,

anybody may submit a request that the Constitutional Court should revise the resolution, within 15 days of the disclosure of the relevant decision.

Such a request may only be submitted on the basis of circumstances in which some material change has occurred during the period between the verification of the signature sheets and the ordering of the referendum, which could not, accordingly, be taken into account by the NEC and the Curia in the verification of the question. In other words: it is not sufficient to refer to constitutional concerns relating to the mere content of the referendum question or its verification.

The Constitutional Court has 30 days in which to make its decision, during which it reviews whether the resolution taken by the National Assembly is in accordance with the Fundamental Law, together with the lawfulness of the resolution. In the case of an in-depth examination the Constitutional Court may:

uphold the National Assembly’s resolution, or

annul the National Assembly’s resolution and calls on the National Assembly to adopt another resolution.
X. Setting the date for a national referendum

The date of the referendum is called by the President of the Republic. The date of the referendum may be called within 15 days of the inconclusive expiry of the legal remedy against the National Assembly’s resolution ordaining a referendum, or, in the case of legal remedy, of the date on which the appeal is adjudged. The date of the referendum must be such that the ballot date is between the seventieth and the ninetieth day following the date on which it is announced. Voting must take place on a Sunday.

1. Multiple referendums taking place on the same day

If a referendum has already been called on some other question, a referendum concerning another question may be held simultaneously, if

a period of at least fifty days has still remained before the date of the referendum called earlier and

it does not jeopardise the lawfulness of the execution of the voting procedure.

2. Prohibited period

No national referendum may be scheduled to take place within 41 days before and after the election of Members of Parliament, Members of the European Parliament, local governmental representatives or mayors. In this case the national referendum must be scheduled within 131 days of the elections concerned.

The resolution on the date of the referendum must be published in the Hungarian Official Gazette
XI. The validity of a referendum

A national referendum is valid if more than half of all of the voters, that is,

− voters having addresses of residence in Hungary and

− voters with no address of residence in Hungary, registered in the central registry, cast valid votes.

A national referendum is conclusive if more than half of the validly voting voters gave the same answer to the question, that is, if there is no tie vote.
XII. The binding force of a referendum

A decision adopted by referendum is binding on the National Assembly for a period of three years.

If the National Assembly is obliged to adopt legislation pursuant to the outcome of the referendum, this obligation must be fulfilled within six months.
XIII. The issue of referendum initiatives relating to the same subject

1. Initiatives concerning the same subject

Two questions shall be considered as having the same content “if they would impose wholly or partly identical, or mutually exclusive, obligations on the National Assembly”, i.e. in the case of two valid and conclusive referendums the legislator would be obliged to regulate the same legal relationship with the same or with different content. The term “same” therefore does not mean that the two questions concerned are fully identical or that they match word by word, but they are the same in terms of the subject to be regulated.

What needs to be clarified to ensure predictable procedures is which initiative is to be prioritised when multiple referendum initiatives are submitted concerning the same subject, that is, which of them should be put out for a national referendum.

The ban on the submission of questions for referendum on the same subject (or moratorium on parallel questions on the same topic) was significantly eased by the amendments to the Referendum Act of 21 May 2016: initiatives by voters on the same question may be submitted and signatures may be collected for such questions until the accumulation of the necessary number of signatures.

Decision on whether a question proposed for a referendum is about the same subject as that of a national referendum initiative on which a decision has already been made, is taken by the NEC in its resolution on the verification of the question. In the case of the verification of more than one questions of the same content the NEO informs the organiser of the question that was the first to be submitted, in writing, by posting him or it the final and binding resolution. Voters are informed by the NEO about initiatives on the same subject on the official elections website.

2. Protection in the case of questions on the same subject is specified by the law as follows:

a) No question on the same subject may be submitted after the NEC’s establishment in a final and binding resolution of the fact that at least two hundred thousand valid signatures have been submitted in support of another question,

during the period before the National Assembly’s resolution on not calling a referendum becomes final and binding,

until the holding of a referendum, if the referendum was invalid, or

until the expiry of the binding period of the national referendum held earlier on the same subject (that is, three years after the promulgation of the act adopted on the basis of the referendum).

b) No question on the same subject may be submitted after the National Assembly’s calling of a referendum by a final and binding resolution concerning another question, submitted by at least one hundred thousand voters, the Government or the President of the Republic

until the holding of a referendum, if the referendum was invalid, or

until the expiry of the binding period of the national referendum held earlier on the same subject (that is, three years after the promulgation of the act adopted on the basis of the referendum).

c) The President of the Republic and the Government must not submit a question on the same subject after the submission of a voter’s initiative,

within sixteen days of the negative decision taken by the President of the NEO, if no re-submission has taken place,

until the expiry of the submission deadline of the appeal against the judgement of the NEO dealing with the question (15 days after the publication of the decision on the website valasztas.hu), if the appeal against the judgement of not verifying the question has been submitted.

until 00:00 a.m. on the day following the publication in the Hungarian Official Gazette of the Curia’s decision upholding the NEC’s decision refusing to verify the question or the Curia’s decision rejecting the request for revision without in-depth examination,

until 00:00 a.m. on the day following the publication in the Hungarian Official Gazette of the Curia’s resolution altering the NEC’s decision on verification,

until the withdrawal of the referendum initiative (which is possible until the submission of the signature sheets),

until the inconclusive expiry of the deadline for the submission of the signature sheets,

during the period before the National Assembly’s resolution on not calling a referendum becomes final and binding,

until the holding of a referendum, if the referendum was invalid, or

until the expiry of the binding period of the national referendum held earlier on the same subject (that is, three years after the promulgation of the act adopted on the basis of the referendum).

d) If signatures were collected on multiple questions on the same subject, the NEO will start checking the signatures on the signature sheets submitted first.

d1) If the number of valid signatures collected in support of the initiative that was the first one to be submitted is below two hundred thousand but more than one hundred thousand

If signatures are being collected for multiple questions on the same subject and the number of valid signatures on the signature sheets submitted first (so-called primary submission) is over one hundred thousand but less than two hundred thousand, and the resolution establishing the result of the verification of the signatures has become final and binding, the other organisers must hand over to the NEO all of the signature sheets that have been issued (so-called: secondary submission, by the 85th day of the date of the primary submission (so-called: submission deadline with suspensory effect). Failure to do so entails a fine (of 1000 HUF/sheet). No excuse shall be accepted for a delay in this case either.

During the secondary submission the organiser (being the second, third etc. to hand over the sheets) must make a declaration

requesting the suspension of the collection of signatures,

requesting the checking of the signatures being submitted, or

withdrawing the initiative for a referendum.

If the organiser fails to make a declaration, his/its referendum initiative must be regarded as having been withdrawn.

The Chairman of the NEC notifies the Speaker of the House on the first working day following the date on which the outcome of the checking of signatures submitted by the submission deadline with suspensory effect and requested to be verified became final and binding. This information also includes the final and binding result of the checking of the signatures submitted in support of all questions on the same subject submitted by the submission deadline with suspensory effect, together with the sequence of the submission of those questions.

The National Assembly makes its decisions on the initiatives in the order of the submission of the sheets. The National Assembly may ordain only one referendum on a subject covered by multiple questions.

From the submission deadline with suspensory effect on until the National Assembly’s decision not to ordain an optional referendum the NEO does not issue any additional signature sheets.

If upon the secondary submission the organiser has asked for the submission of the collection of signatures, the submission lapses on the day on which the National Assembly adopts its decision on not ordaining an optional referendum, and the NEO hands over to the organiser the number of signature sheets requested, within five days. The 120 day deadline for the collection of signatures stops running from the date of the secondary submission until the hand-out of the signature sheets. If however, the National Assembly has ordered a referendum by a final and binding resolution concerning the first submitted question, supported by at least one hundred thousand valid signatures, the suspended referendum initiative lapses.

d2) If the number of valid signatures collected in support of the initiative that was the first one to be submitted is at least two hundred thousand

If signatures are being collected on multiple questions on the same subject and the NEC establishes by its final and binding resolution that the question that was the first one to be submitted is supported by at least two hundred thousand valid signatures, the issuance of signature sheets for the rest of the referendum initiatives on the same subjects is suspended and the 120-day deadline for the collection of signatures stops running.

Within 15 days of the date on which the Commission’s resolution establishing the availability of the two hundred thousand valid signatures becomes final and binding the organiser(s) collecting signatures on the same subject must submit all of the signature sheets to the NEO. Upon handing over the sheets the organiser(s) may make a declaration on withdrawing the referendum initiative(s).

Upon the organiser’s failure to fulfil its obligation to hand over the sheets the NEC charges a fine of 1000 HUF/sheet, ex officio. No excuse shall be accepted for the organiser’s delay.

Once the National Assembly has ordained a national referendum by a final and binding resolution, the ongoing and suspended referendum initiatives lapse.

If however, the National Assembly’s resolution ordering a referendum does not become final and binding as a consequence of legal remedy, suspension lapses on the day following the disclosure of the Constitutional Court’s resolution. Within five days thereafter the NEO furnishes the organiser with the requested number of signature sheets and the collection of signatures may be continued.

If the NEC establishes by its final and binding resolution that the number of valid signatures is at least two hundred thousand, or if the National Assembly has ordered, by a final and binding resolution, a referendum on the same subject on the basis of the initiative of the President of the Republic, the Government or a voter’s initiative with one hundred thousand valid signatures, the NEO does not check the signatures collected and submitted in support of further referendum initiatives on the same subject.

If however, in spite of the NEC’s establishment by its final and binding resolution that the number of valid signatures equals at least two hundred thousand, but the National Assembly’s resolution ordering a referendum does not become final and binding owing to legal remedy, after the disclosure of the Constitutional Court’s resolution the NEO carries out the detailed checking and verification of the signatures collected in support of the rest of the referendum initiatives concerning the same subject.