The National Election Committee, acting within its competence as laid down in Section 90/A (4) a) of Act C of 1997 (hereinafter: Ve.), issues the following resolution on opinion polls conducted on the day of the vote.

According to Section 8 (1) of the Ve., the results of opinion polls related to the elections shall not be published from the eighth day preceding the vote until the end of the vote.

In accordance with this provision, the results of opinion polls conducted by any method after the eighth day preceding the vote can only be made public after the ballot boxes have been closed.

Section 8 (2) a) of the Ve. states that opinion polls conducted on the day of the vote can only be anonymous and must be based on voluntary participation.

Section 8 (2) b) of the Ve. states as a further restriction that opinion pollsters are not allowed to enter the building in which the polling station is located, they must not disturb voters in any way, and they can only ask those who are leaving the polling station.

It is clear from the general justification of Sections 6-8 of the Ve. that Section 8 (2) b) of the Act contains restrictions of a guarantee nature regarding opinion polls conducted by the so-called exit poll method. Nevertheless, the Act does not prohibit the continuation of opinion polls conducted by other methods on the day of the vote, provided that they are conducted within the limits set in Section 8 (2) a), and their results are made public at the earliest after the vote has been closed.

Budapest, 30 March 2006

Dr. Péter Szigeti
President of the National Election Committee
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