on the interpretation of the rules on the removal of election posters[1]
The National Election Commission, acting within its competence under paragraph (1) of Article 51 of Act XXXVI of 2013 on Electoral Procedure (hereinafter: Act XXXVI of 2013 on Electoral Procedure referred to as Ve.), hereby publishes the following
Guidelines
Article 144 (7) of the Act, the election commission shall have no jurisdiction to consider an application submitted due to violation of the obligation to remove the election poster within thirty days after the voting, nor shall it be entitled to impose a fine.
The guidelines are intended to interpret the following provisions of the Ve:
"§ 139 (1)[2] The election campaign period shall last from the 50th day before the day of voting until the end of voting on the day of voting."
"Article 141 Campaign activity shall mean the use of campaign funds during the campaign period and any other activity carried out during the campaign period for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the will of the voters."
"§ 144 (7) The poster shall be placed in such a way that it does not cover the poster of another candidate or nominating organisation and can be removed without damage. The person who placed the poster or in whose interest it was placed shall be obliged to remove it within 30 days of the vote or, failing this, to bear the cost of its removal."
"§ 218 (1)[3] The election commission shall decide on the objection on the basis of the data at its disposal.
(2) If the election commission upholds the objection
(..)
d) it may also impose a fine in the event of violation of the rules of the election campaign or of the obligation set out in Article 155."
Justification[4][5]
In the opinion of the National Election Commission, although the Ve. Section 144 (7), second sentence, the obligation to remove the poster is contained in the Ve., however, the application of the legal consequences of its unlawful omission is a matter for local governments and not for election commissions, pursuant to Section 13 (1), point 2 of Act CLXXXIX of 2011 on Local Governments of Hungary. Consequently, the election commission has no competence to adjudicate on the application for legal remedy concerning the violation of the obligation to remove the election poster after 30 days from the day of voting. This position is also confirmed by the fact that, at the time of the obligation to remove the poster, the election procedure during which it was placed has, as a rule, already ended procedurally due to the final determination of the election result, so that the exercise of the duties and powers of the electoral bodies is no longer directed at facilitating the exercise of the fundamental political right guaranteed by Articles XXIII and 2 of the Fundamental Law of Hungary, namely the right to vote.
According to Section 218 (2) d) of Paragraph (2) of the Act, a fine may be imposed in the course of a legal remedy procedure only in case of violation of the rules of the election campaign, and in case of violation of the rules on the management of data of voters included in the electoral district register for the purpose of the election campaign by the candidate or nominating organisation.
According to139 (1) of the Ve, election campaigns shall last from the 50th day prior to voting until the end of voting on the day of voting. In the opinion of the National Election Commission, according to the above-mentioned legal provisions, an election campaign cannot be conducted outside this period: the use of means that are considered campaign equipment during the election campaign period does not constitute campaign activity outside the campaign period.
Based on the said provisions, the second sentence of the Ve. 144 (7), does not constitute a campaign rule.
Given that the second sentence of the Ve. Section 144 (7) does not refer to the rule on active campaigning and the legislator specifies the legal consequence of the violation of the obligation to remove the poster as the removal of the poster at the expense of the person obliged to remove it, which is a task falling within the competence of the local government, the election commission may not impose a fine for the violation of this rule.
Budapest, 22 May 2014.
Dr András Patyi
Chairman of the
National Election Committee
[1] Consolidated with the amendments contained in NBI Guidelines 1/2021 and 1/2024
[2] Amended by NBI Guideline 1/2021.
[3] Amended by NBI Guideline 1/2024, effective from 27 March 2024
[4] Amended by NBI Guideline 1/2021.
[5] Amended by NBI Guideline 1/2024, effective from 27 March 2024