National Minority Self-Government Elections
Registration of an Organization for Nationality Minority Self-Government Elections
The general election of national minority self-government representatives must be scheduled by the National Election Commission (NEC) no later than the sixty-ninth day before the election day, which is the same day as the general election for local government representatives and mayors.
For the general election of national minority self-government representatives, any national minority organization that is legally registered in the court registry of civil organizations may be recorded as a nominating organization.
Act CLXXIX of 2011 on the Rights of National Minorities, Section 2(14), defines the concept of a national minority organization. According to this definition, with the exception of political parties and trade unions, a national minority organization is an association listed in the court registry of civil organizations whose articles of association – at least three years prior to the year of the national minority self-government elections – state that its purpose is to represent a specific national minority as defined in this Act.
A national minority organization can only represent one nationality!
To register a national minority organization as a nominating organization, the P5 form must be used, as specified in Decree of the Ministry of Justice 2/2024 (III. 11.), which lays out detailed rules regarding tasks under the authority of the election offices related to the joint procedure for the 2024 general elections for Members of the European Parliament, local government representatives, mayors, and national minority local government representatives, the determination of the scope of the nationwide aggregated electoral results, the detailed rules for the electoral tasks of the capital and county government offices, and the forms used in the joint procedure.
The representative of a national minority organization, who is legally authorized to represent it, can submit the registration to the National Election Commission or to one of the regional election commissions. The contact details of the election bodies can be found here.
National minority organizations intending to nominate a joint candidate or list must each register separately as a nominating organization with the relevant election commission.
Registration of the Nominating Organization
The nominating organization must be registered at any of the regional election commissions (RECs) or at the National Election Commission (NEC). The registration involves submitting the P5 form to the regional election office operating in any county seat or to the National Election Office operating alongside the NEC. The Regional Election Office and the National Election Office verify the existence and the authenticity of the registered organization’s data in the court registry of civil organizations.
The regional election commission and the National Election Commission are authorized to register nominating organizations. The RECs and the NEC, with nationwide jurisdiction, register organizations that meet the legal criteria.
The acting election commission checks the court registry of civil organizations to ensure that a national minority organization complies with Section 2(14) of Act CLXXIX of 2011 on the Rights of National Minorities; that is, whether its articles of association have set out the objective of representing a national minority for at least three years prior to the year of the national minority election.
If the organization's registration meets all legal requirements, the regional election commission or the National Election Commission will register the organization no later than the fourth day after the registration is submitted.
The legitimate electronic registry of registered nominating organizations, candidates, and lists is maintained by the National Election Office and the election office operating alongside the registering election commission. The National Election Office obtains data of candidates and nominating organizations from the central electoral register, the personal data and address registry, and the court registry of civil organizations.
If a party registered as a nominating organization is removed from the court registry of civil organizations, it will also be removed from the registry of nominating organizations.
The Name of the National Minority Organization in the Language of the National Minority
A national minority nominating organization may request that its official name and abbreviated name be included on the ballot paper in the language of the national minority. In this case, the organization must attach a file containing the national minority name and abbreviated name to the P5 form at the time of registration.
The logo of the Nominating Organization
The national minority organization may attach its logo to the P5 form used for the registration of the nominating organization at the time of submission. The logo will only appear on the ballot paper if the nominating organization requests it on the P5 form at the time of registration. It is important to note that, according to Section 5(1) of Act CCII of 2011 on the Use of the Coat of Arms and Flag of Hungary and on State Honours, the coat of arms of Hungary, including its distinguishable parts such as the shield and the Holy Crown, may not be used as a symbol or as part of a symbol by a nominating organization. Additionally, the use of the coat of arms or symbols of individual municipalities must comply with the relevant municipal regulations.
Official name, abbreviated name of the Nominating Organization
In the P5 form used for the registration of the nominating organization, the official name of the nominating organization must be indicated, and it must always match the name of the national minority organization as it appears in the court registry of civil organizations. The electronic registry of civil organizations can be accessed here.
The P5 form also allows for the entry of the national minority organization’s abbreviated name, which will appear on the internet and on the ballot paper. This abbreviated name should primarily be the one recorded in the court registry of civil organizations. If no abbreviated name is recorded, an alternative abbreviated name specified during registration may be used, provided that it does not conflict with the name or abbreviated name of another organization already recorded in the court registry of civil organizations or in the registry of nominating organizations, candidates, and lists. In the absence of a registered abbreviated name, a name that has a grammatical or logical relationship with the official name of the national minority organization may be used (e.g., an abbreviation or acronym derived from it) or one that reflects the organization’s activities.
The abbreviated name will only appear on the ballot paper if the nominating organization requests it on the P5 form at the time of registration.
The name of the nominating organization must be listed on all recommendation sheets and ballot papers in the same form, regardless of whether the name of the nominating organization changes. This means that if the name of the nominating organization changes after the start of collecting recommendations, the new name will not appear on the recommendation sheets and ballot papers after the first issuance of the sheets.
To ensure equal opportunities for organizations, the names of all nominating organizations on the ballot paper will be displayed in uppercase letters, using the same font and letter size.