Repealed by Resolution 1/2007. (III. 19.) OVB

The National Election Committee, exercising the authorization received in Section 34 (2) a) of Act C of 1997 on Electoral Procedure (hereinafter: Ve.), issues the following

resolution

on the subject of minority candidacy in the election of members of local governments:

According to Section 71 (1) of Act XX of 1949 on the Constitution of the Republic of Hungary: "parliamentary representatives, as well as the members of local government representative bodies, and the mayor and the mayor of the capital city are elected by citizens on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, by direct and secret ballot".

According to Section 1 of Act LXIV of 1990 on the election of local government representatives and mayors (hereinafter: Övjt.), "suffrage is universal and equal, and voting is direct and secret".

According to Section 3 c) and d) of the Ve., "in the application of the rules of the electoral procedure, the participants concerned in the election must enforce the following fundamental principles:
c) equal opportunities for candidates and nominating organizations,
d) exercising rights in good faith and for their intended purpose,".

According to Section 50/B (2) of the Övjt., "any voter who undertakes to represent a minority defined in the Nek. Tv. can be nominated to the local minority self-government body".

According to Section 54/A m) of the Övjt., "minority candidate: an independent candidate who undertakes to represent a national or ethnic minority, or the candidate of a minority organization;".

According to Section 149 j) of the Ve., "minority candidate: an independent candidate who undertakes to represent a national or ethnic minority - according to the law on the rights of national and ethnic minorities - or the candidate of a minority organization,"

One sentence in Model 2 of Annex 2 of Decree 20/2002. (VIII. 1.) BM of the Minister of the Interior on the implementation of Act C of 1997 on Electoral Procedure in the election of local government representatives and mayors reads: "I declare that I undertake to represent the following minority (only one minority can be indicated):...".

The Övjt. provides benefits for each minority for undertaking to represent the minority. The minority candidate can only be entitled to the preferential mandate acquisition (small list benefit, minority compensation list) provided by law for minorities on the basis of representing one minority, otherwise they would gain an unfair advantage.

An organization can undertake to represent several minorities, if the organization was registered accordingly in court, but an organization established to represent several minorities can comply with the legal provisions by nominating several candidates, indicating one minority for each candidate.

From the principle of equal suffrage in the Constitution and the Övjt. and the principle of equal opportunities between candidates and nominating organizations in the Ve., it follows that a candidate in a small list or individual constituency in a local government election can only undertake to represent one minority in a way that entitles them to a minority benefit.

This interpretation is supported by the fact that the interpretative provisions of the legal regulations refer to the minority in the singular ("a certain... minority"), and the rules for the distribution of mandates can only be applied with this interpretation.

Budapest, 8 August 2002

Dr. Lajos Ficzere
President of the National Election Committee
elnöke