Repealed by Resolution 1/2007.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

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:

According to Section 2 of the Ve., this Act shall apply to:
a) the election of parliamentary representatives,
b) the election of local government representatives and mayors, and members of local minority self-governments,
c) national and local referendums,
d) national and local popular initiatives, and
e) other electoral procedures for which the application of this Act is ordered by law [the matters in points a)-e) together: election].

According to Section 3 of the Ve., in the application of the rules of the electoral procedure, the affected participants must enforce the fundamental principles set out in Section 3 a) - f).

According to Section 34 (2) of the Ve., the National Election Committee shall
a) issue a resolution to ensure the uniform interpretation of election-related legal regulations and the establishment of uniform legal practice; no legal remedy is available against the resolution; the resolution must be published in the Hungarian Official Gazette,
b) decide on the registration or rejection of lists and the candidates on them, and the nominating organizations,
c) draw the serial numbers of the lists,
d) approve the content of the ballot papers for the national referendum,
e) decide on the submitted objection,
f) annul the result of the vote if it finds a violation of law that substantially influenced it,
g) determine which nominating organizations have reached the percentage threshold specified by law,
h) determine which candidates on the national lists have won mandates based on the nationally aggregated fractional votes,
i) issue the credentials to the representatives who have won a mandate,
j) determine and publish the nationally aggregated result of the election,
k) schedule the by-election for parliamentary representatives and determine its calendar deadlines,
l) in the event of a violation of law that comes to its knowledge, initiate a decision by the competent body,
m) report to the Parliament on the general election of parliamentary representatives and local government representatives and mayors, and on the national referendum,
n) act in all matters that are referred to its competence by law.

According to Section 40 (1) of the Ve., the election campaign lasts from the scheduling of the election until 0:00 on the day preceding the vote. According to paragraph (2), it is prohibited to conduct an election campaign from 0:00 on the day preceding the vote until the end of the vote (campaign silence).

According to Section 41 of the Ve., a violation of campaign silence includes influencing the voters' will, such as: free services provided to voters by a candidate or nominating organization (organized transport to the polls, giving food and drink), distributing party badges, flags, party symbols, objects containing the candidate's photograph or name, placing election posters (hereinafter: posters), or providing information suitable for influencing the voters' will electronically or by other means.

According to Section 42 (1) of the Ve., until the end of the election campaign, nominating organizations and candidates may produce posters without a permit. A poster is considered a press product that can be produced without a permit or notification. Otherwise, the legal regulations on the press shall apply to the poster.

According to Section 43 (1) of the Ve., election meetings are public. The organizer of the meeting is responsible for maintaining order.

According to Section 51 (1) of the Ve., a nominating organization that wishes to nominate a candidate or a list must be announced with a certified copy of its court registration as follows:
a) if the nominating organization wishes to nominate a candidate or a list in several counties, or in the capital and a county, to the National Election Committee,
b) if the nominating organization wishes to nominate a candidate only within one county, or within the capital, but in several individual parliamentary constituencies or several settlements, to the territorial election committee,
c) if the nominating organization wishes to nominate a candidate only in one individual parliamentary constituency, or only in one settlement, to the individual parliamentary constituency election committee or the local election committee.
(2) The National Election Office shall keep a register of the announced and registered nominating organizations.
(3) Only a nominating organization announced according to paragraph (1) and registered according to Section 55 may nominate a candidate or a list.

According to Section 52 (1) of the Ve., a candidate must be announced to the competent election committee no later than the 23rd day before the vote by handing over the recommendation forms.
(2) The announcement must contain the candidate's family name and given name, personal identifier, address, and a declaration that they
a) have the right to vote,
b) accept the nomination,
c) do not hold any office that is incompatible with the representative or mayoral mandate, or will resign from it if elected.
(3) If two or more voters with the same family name and given name wish to run as a candidate in a constituency, the person announced later must ensure that they are distinguishable from the previously announced candidate - by indicating a letter or a second given name.

According to Section 53 (1) of the Ve., a list must be announced by handing over the certificate issued according to Section 55 (1) proving the announcement or registration of the number of candidates or lists required for list submission.
(2) The provisions of Section 52 (2) shall also apply to the candidates on the list.
(3) A list may include a maximum of three times as many candidates as the number of mandates that can be won on the list. The order of the candidates on the list shall be determined by the nominating organization and cannot be changed after the list has been announced. If a candidate is eliminated from the list, the next candidate on the list shall take their place.

According to Section 149 g) of the Ve., nominating organization: a party registered according to Act XXXIII of 1989 on the functioning and financial management of parties, and a social organization registered according to Act II of 1989 on the right of association; nominating organizations that nominate a common candidate or list are considered one nominating organization.

Section 149 o) of the Ve. defines the election campaign as follows: presenting an election program, promoting a candidate, list, nominating organization, organizing an election meeting, placing a poster, using volunteers.

Based on the cited legal provisions, the National Election Committee states that the election campaign regulated in Chapter VI of the Ve. (Sections 40 - 45 of the Ve.) is part of the electoral procedure subject to the Ve. - Section 2 a)-e) of the Ve.

Section 40 (1) of the Ve. clearly regulates the duration of the election campaign. The concept of an election campaign is defined in Section 149 o) of the Ve. During the election campaign period, the legal assessment of campaign actions defined in Section 149 o) of the Ve. depends on the content in which they are regulated by the Ve., and whether the given campaign action is linked to a nominating organization, a candidate or a list.

The Ve. does not set such specific conditions for some of the campaign actions - for example, presenting an election program, using volunteers. At the same time, the Ve. links the performance of promotional actions to a specific legal status. According to Section 149 o) of the Ve., the mentioned campaign actions can be performed with regard to a nominating organization, a candidate and a list.

According to the position of the National Election Committee, the nominating organization, the candidate and the list gain their status for participation in the electoral procedure from the time of their registration according to Section 55 of the Ve. Therefore, promotional actions performed with regard to a nominating organization, a candidate or a list during the election campaign period are considered campaign actions from the time the nominating organization, candidate or list has been registered in accordance with the cited rules of the Ve., in view of Section 149 o) of the Ve.

Dr. Lajos Ficzere
President of the National Election Committee
elnöke