The National Election Committee, acting within its competence as laid down in Section 34 (2) a) of Act C of 1997 on Electoral Procedure (hereinafter: Ve.), issues the following

resolution

The National Election Committee establishes that its Resolution 9/2002 (III. 7.) OVB on the registration of Hungarian citizens residing in Hungary is no longer in effect.

The National Election Committee issued a resolution (hereinafter: Resolution) under number 9/2002 (III. 7.) OVB on the registration of Hungarian citizens residing in Hungary. After the issuance of the Resolution, certain provisions of the Ve. concerning the Resolution were amended as follows.

According to Section 13 (1) of the Ve., as amended by Section 43 (4) of Act CXIII of 2003 on the election of Members of the European Parliament (hereinafter: Eptv.), which entered into force on December 27, 2003, persons with the right to vote whose place of residence (hereinafter: address) is in the polling district must be included in the register.

According to Section 149 q) of the Ve., inserted by Section 21 (3) of the Eptv. and effective from December 27, 2003, place of residence: the address of the apartment or, in the absence thereof, the room or accommodation used out of necessity - with the exception of Hungarian and non-Hungarian citizens living abroad - which the voter uses as their home, provided that they have registered it as their address in the personal data and address register.

The National Election Committee establishes that according to Section 70 (1) and (2) of the Constitution, which were in force at the time of the issuance of the Resolution and are still in force, every adult Hungarian citizen living in the territory of the Republic of Hungary has the right to be elected and - if they are in the territory of the country on the day of the election or referendum - to vote in parliamentary, local government, and minority self-government elections, and to participate in national or local referendums and popular initiatives. The right to vote in local government representative and mayoral elections, and the right to participate in local referendums and local popular initiatives, also belongs - according to a separate law - to non-Hungarian citizens living as immigrants in the territory of the Republic of Hungary if they are in the territory of the country on the day of the election or referendum.

Pursuant to Section 7 of Act LXI of 2002 on the amendment of Act XX of 1949 on the Constitution of the Republic of Hungary, the aforementioned provisions of the Constitution shall be in force with the following text from the date of entry into force of the Act promulgating the international treaty on the accession of the Republic of Hungary to the European Union:

“70. § (1) Every adult Hungarian citizen with a place of residence in the territory of the Republic of Hungary has the right to vote and to be elected in the election of Members of Parliament, and to participate in a national referendum and popular initiative.

2) Every adult Hungarian citizen with a place of residence in the territory of the Republic of Hungary and every adult citizen of another Member State of the European Union with a place of residence in the territory of the Republic of Hungary has the right to be elected and - if they are in the territory of the Republic of Hungary on the day of the election or referendum - to vote in the election of local government representatives and mayors, and to participate in a local referendum and popular initiative. Only a Hungarian citizen may be elected as mayor and mayor of the capital.”

According to Section 5 (2) of Act LXVI of 1992 on the registration of personal data and addresses of citizens: “For the purposes of this Act, the place of residence of a citizen is: the address of the apartment in which the citizen lives. For the purpose of registering an address, an apartment is considered to be a building or part of a building consisting of one or more residential rooms that the citizen uses as their home, as well as a room where someone lives out of necessity, or - if they have no other apartment - stays.”

According to Section 34 (2) a) of the Ve., the National Election Committee issues resolutions for the purpose of the uniform interpretation of election-related legal regulations and the establishment of uniform legal practice; there is no legal remedy against the resolution; the resolution must be published in the Hungarian Gazette.

According to Section 1 b) of Act XXXII of 1989 on the Constitutional Court, the competence of the Constitutional Court includes the ex-post review of the constitutionality of a legal regulation and other legal instruments of state administration.

Based on the above, with regard to Section 13 (1) of the Ve., the National Election Committee establishes that its Resolution 9/2002 (III. 7.) OVB on the registration of Hungarian citizens residing in Hungary is no longer in effect and is not applicable from the publication of this resolution.

Budapest, 10 March 2004.

Dr. Lajos Ficzere
President of the National Election Committee