Appointment of a Member of the Election Commission for the joint procedure of electing Members of the European Parliament, local government representatives and mayors, as well as national minority self-government representatives

In the joint procedure election for Members of the European Parliament, local government representatives and mayors, and national minority self-government representatives (hereinafter: joint procedure), the following election committees operate:

• in every polling station: Polling Station Committee (hereinafter: SZSZB);
• at the municipal level: Local Election Committee (hereinafter: HVB);
• in the counties: Territorial Election Committee (hereinafter: TVB), in the capital: Budapest Election Committee (hereinafter: FVB);
• with national competence and jurisdiction: National Election Committee (hereinafter: NVB).

In a settlement with a single polling station, the tasks and powers of the Polling Station Committee are performed by the Local Election Committee (HVB).

Election committees consist of elected and appointed (delegated) members. Only nominating organizations that field a list are entitled to appoint members to election committees.

It is in the fundamental interest of nominating organizations to delegate members to all election committees, as this allows them to personally monitor and facilitate the lawful conduct of the election and to actively participate in the resolution of potential legal disputes.

Appointment to Election Committees

The joint procedure has not changed the rule that in the national minority self-government election, there is no possibility to appoint members to election committees; only observers can be delegated. Information on the appointment of national minority observers is available here.

Nominating organizations fielding a joint list are jointly entitled to appoint members to the aforementioned election committees.

The following examples illustrate the possibilities of delegation in the case of joint candidate or list nomination:

Only nominating organizations that field a list in the European Parliament election can appoint a member to the NVB. However, in this case, those nominating organizations that field a joint list with a party having a parliamentary group in the National Assembly are also entitled to appoint a member, even if the party has already appointed a member to the NVB based on its parliamentary group status.

Conditions for Appointment (Delegation)

A person who is eligible to run as a candidate in the local government election or the European Parliament election can be an appointed member of the election committee.

Incompatibility

The following cannot be appointed members of the election committee:

• the President of the Republic
• the Speaker of the National Assembly
• a Member of Parliament
• a Deputy Mayor
• the Notary (chief administrative officer of a municipality)
• a member of another election committee, a member of the election office
• professional and contract soldiers, officer cadets, and non-commissioned officer cadets in service with the Hungarian Defence Forces, and volunteer reservist soldiers performing actual service
• a candidate

An appointed member of the election committee must declare in writing, no later than before taking the oath, that no conflict of interest exists with regard to their person. A member or substitute member of the election committee is obliged to immediately notify the head of the election office operating alongside the election committee of any conflict of interest that arises concerning them and to report it at the next session of the election committee.

Notification of the Appointed Member

• Appointed members to the NVB, TVB, and HVB must be notified to the chairperson of the competent election committee no later than 4:00 PM on the 9th day before the election day.
• Appointed members to the SZSZB and the HVB (in single-polling station settlements) must be notified to the head of the local election office also no later than 4:00 PM on the 9th day before the election day.
• If the HVI has supplemented the SZSZB due to a large number of voters transferring their registration, the deadline for notifying additional members expires at 4:00 PM on the 2nd day before the election day. The head of the local election office will immediately notify those entitled to appoint members of this possibility.

The notification must include:

• the name of the appointing party (and the name of its representative, if applicable),
• the name and personal identification number of the appointed member, and
• the designation of the election committee (to which the appointment is made).

There is no prescribed form for the notification; the appointing nominating organization creates it themselves, provided that the notification contains all the data pursuant to Section 30 (3) of the Ve. Therefore, there is no legal obstacle to the nominating organization submitting its notification in a consolidated manner (e.g., in tabular form).

In addition to the above, it is advisable to provide the direct contact details of the appointed person (email and telephone number) so that the election office can contact them. The document for the appointment must be signed by the representative of the nominating organization.

The election office verifies the voting rights of the appointed member. If the appointment does not meet the legal requirements, the chairperson of the election committee submits the matter to the election committee. The election committee decides on the acceptance or rejection of the appointment by resolution within three days of the notification. In the case of an appointed member of the Polling Station Committee, the head of the local election office rejects the appointment if it does not meet the legal requirements.

The document for the notification of the appointed member and the declaration of incompatibility of the appointed member must be submitted in paper form and in original or authenticated with an electronic signature via email or e-paper to:

• the NVI in case of appointment to the NVB;
• the TVI/FVI in case of appointment to the TVB/FVB;
• the competent HVI in case of appointment to the HVB or SZSZB.

In the case of electronic submission, the signature of the appointing nominating organization(s)' representative on the appointment must be authenticated with a qualified electronic signature, an advanced electronic signature, or a document authentication service with identity verification, with the condition that the person signing electronically is authorized to represent the nominating organization. In the case of submission via e-paper, the attached notification also needs to be authenticated. The same requirement applies to the declaration of incompatibility submitted electronically.

Documents for appointments to SZSZBs can also be submitted exclusively in person (by the nominating organization's representative or their authorized representative) to the National Assembly single-member constituency election office competent according to the location of the local election office.

The contact details of the election offices can be found here.

Oath or Pledge

The appointed member must take an oath or make a pledge within 5 days of their notification, or in the case of an SZSZB member, no later than the 2nd day before the election day. A member of the SZSZB/HVB takes the oath or makes a pledge before the mayor, a member of the TVB/FVB takes it before the chairperson of the county assembly/Mayor of Budapest, and a member of the NVB takes it before the Speaker of the National Assembly, according to the text of the law on the oath and pledge of certain public officials. Taking the oath or making a pledge is only possible in person. (see: KVK.III.37.799/2020/3. order)

The most important legal effect of taking the oath or making a pledge is that the member of the election committee can only exercise their rights afterwards.

Termination of the Mandate of Election Committee Members, Filling Vacancies

The mandate of an appointed member of the election committee lasts until the legal validity of the election result related to the nomination or list on which the appointment was based.

The mandate of a member of the election committee terminates in addition to the aforementioned:

• if the legal conditions for the mandate cease to exist,
• if the election committee has established a conflict of interest for its member,
• by resignation,
• if the appointing party withdraws the mandate of the appointed member,
• if the list nominated by the nominating organization that appointed the member is eliminated,
• upon the death of the member.

In case of the termination of the mandate of an appointed member, the concerned nominating organization – with the exception of the elimination of the list on which the appointment was based – can appoint a new member.