In accordance with Hungary’s Fundamental Law, municipalities operate in Hungary for the management of local public affairs and the exercise of local public authority. The municipality’s duties and powers are exercised by the representative body. The municipal representative body is headed by the mayor. The president of the county assembly is elected by the county assembly from among its own members.

The general election of local government representatives and mayors must be held in April, May, June or July of the fifth year following the previous general election of local government representatives and mayors and must be held simultaneously with the election of Members of the European Parliament.

Act L of 2010 on the Election of Local Government Representatives and Mayors contains the substantive legal rules of the elections, defining the structure and components of the electoral system, the rules for establishing the results, and provisions governing the holding of by-elections.

In the election of municipal representatives and mayors, the following officials are elected: municipal representatives, district councillors in Budapest, members of county assemblies, members of the Budapest General Assembly, mayors of municipalities and districts in Budapest, and in the capital, the Mayor of the Capital.

Right to vote

Information on the requirements for active (the right to vote) and passive (the right to stand as a candidate) suffrage is available here, and information for parties and nominating organisations submitting candidates or lists is available here.

System of Elections for Local Government Representatives and Mayors

Election of Municipal Local Government Representatives

The method of electing municipal representatives depends on whether the municipality has fewer or more than 10,000 inhabitants.

Election of Municipal Representatives in Municipalities with 10,000 Inhabitants or Fewer

In municipalities with 10,000 inhabitants or fewer, the so-called “individual list” electoral system applies. This means that on the ballot paper, the voter may vote for up to as many candidates as the number of representatives to be elected in the municipality (fewer votes may be cast, but not more). The entire municipality forms one electoral district, in which the number of representatives is as follows:

a) up to 100 inhabitants: 2 representatives

b) up to 1,000 inhabitants: 4 representatives

c) up to 5,000 inhabitants: 6 representatives

d) up to 10,000 inhabitants: 8 representatives

The candidates who receive the highest number of valid votes, up to the number of available seats, are elected. In the event of a tie, lots must be drawn to determine which candidate obtains the mandate. If a candidate on the individual list is also elected mayor, they must be removed from the individual list.

A nationality candidate may obtain a preferential mandate if, at the time the election is called, at least 50% of the voters included in the electoral register also appear in the nationality register for the relevant nationality. If no candidate of a given nationality wins a mandate either in the mayoral election or from the individual list, the number corresponding to two-thirds of the valid votes received by the candidate elected with the fewest votes must be determined. A nationality candidate who receives more votes than this established threshold is awarded a preferential mandate. If several candidates of the same nationality exceed this threshold, the nationality candidate with the highest number of votes obtains the preferential mandate; in the event of a tie, lots must be drawn. The preferential mandate increases the size of the representative body.

Election of Municipal Representatives in Municipalities with More Than 10,000 Inhabitants and in the Districts of Budapest

Municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants and the districts of Budapest use a mixed electoral system, with seats obtained in single-member constituencies and from compensation lists. The number of single-member constituency seats and compensation list seats is determined according to population as follows:

• up to 25,000 inhabitants: 8 single-member constituencies + 3 compensation list seats (11 members)

• up to 50,000 inhabitants: 10 single-member constituencies + 4 compensation list seats (14 members)

• up to 75,000 inhabitants: 12 single-member constituencies + 5 compensation list seats (17 members)

• up to 100,000 inhabitants: 14 single-member constituencies + 6 compensation list seats (20 members)

For every additional 10,000 inhabitants, the number of single-member constituencies increases by one; for every additional 25,000 inhabitants, the number of compensation list seats increases by one.

In single-member constituencies, the candidate who receives the highest number of valid votes is elected. In the event of a tie, a by-election must be held.

The compensation list and nationality compensation list receive mandates in proportion to the surplus votes aggregated in the single-member constituencies. Surplus votes are valid votes cast for candidates who did not win a mandate; the winning candidate does not gain surplus votes.

A nominating organisation’s compensation list does not receive a mandate and may not participate in seat allocation if its candidates do not reach 5% of the total compensation votes aggregated at municipal level. This threshold is 10% for joint lists of two nominating organisations, and 15% for joint lists submitted by more than two organisations. These thresholds do not apply to nationality compensation lists.

Candidates on the nationality compensation list obtain mandates in the order of the number of votes they received in the single-member constituencies. In the event of a tie, lots must be drawn.

The compensation list result must be established once the results of the single-member constituencies have become final. Candidates obtain mandates from the compensation list in the order in which they appear on the list. A mandate from the nationality compensation list is awarded to the nationality candidate who received the highest number of votes in the single-member constituency elections (in the event of a tie, lots must be drawn).

If a candidate is elected mayor or as a representative in a single-member constituency, they must be removed from the compensation list after the mayoral and single-member constituency election results become final but before the compensation list result is established. The next candidate on the list moves up.

Election of Members of the Budapest General Assembly

Members of the Budapest General Assembly are elected by list voting. Voters elect 32 representatives to the General Assembly. Budapest constitutes a single electoral district. The directly elected Mayor of the Capital is also a member of the General Assembly.

The list for Budapest obtains mandates proportionally to the votes cast, and candidates obtain mandates in the order in which they appear on the list. If a candidate is elected Mayor of the Capital, he / she must be removed from the list and replaced by the next candidate.

Method of Calculating Mandates

A table must be prepared in which a column of numbers is created under each list. The first number is the total number of votes cast for that list, followed by the number of votes divided by two, three, four, five, etc., by consecutive whole numbers.

Using the table, mandates are allocated by identifying the highest number in the table; the list whose column contains this number receives the mandate. The process is repeated for the second highest number, and so on until all seats have been allocated.

If two or more lists have the same highest number, the mandate is awarded to the list that has not yet obtained a mandate, or that has obtained fewer mandates so far, or finally, the list with the lower sequence number in the list draw.

A nominating organisation’s list (or a joint list) does not obtain a mandate if it fails to receive at least 5% of the valid votes cast for the lists in Budapest.

Election of Members of the County Assembly

County assembly members are elected by county lists. Each county constitutes a single electoral district, excluding cities with county rights.

The number of seats in the county assembly is determined based on the population of the county (including cities with county rights) as follows:

• up to 400,000 inhabitants: 1 representative per 20,000 inhabitants, but at least 15 representatives
• up to 700,000 inhabitants: 20 representatives, plus 1 representative for every additional 30,000 inhabitants above 400,000

• above 700,000 inhabitants: 30 representatives, plus 1 representative for every

additional 40,000 inhabitants above 700,000

County lists obtain mandates proportionally to the votes cast for them, using the same calculation method as in the election of members of the Budapest General Assembly. Candidates are awarded mandates in the order in which they appear on the list.

A list does not obtain a mandate if:

• it fails to reach 5% of the valid votes cast for county lists, or

• in the case of a joint list, it fails to reach 10% or, for joint lists submitted by more than two nominating organisations, 15%.

If a list obtains more mandates than the number of candidates on it, the surplus mandates remain unfilled.

Election of Mayors and the Mayor of the Capital

For the election of mayors, the municipality or district constitutes a single electoral district, while the entire capital constitutes one district for the election of the Mayor of the Capital.

The candidate who receives the highest number of valid votes is elected mayor or Mayor of the Capital. In case of a tie, a by-election must be held.

Nationality Candidates

A candidate of a nationality organisation (as defined by Act CLXXIX of 2011 on the Rights of Nationalities) may stand as a nationality candidate in both the mayoral election and the election of members of the municipal representative body if they:

• are included in the nationality register,

• belong to a nationality for which no other nationality candidate stood in the two previous general elections of local government representatives and mayors, nor in the by-elections held thereafter, and

• make a declaration stating that they:

– undertake to represent the nationality, and

– speak the language of the nationality and are familiar with its culture and traditions.