Objections are the basic procedure in the electoral appeal system. The rules for submitting them are contained in Sections 208–212 of the Election Procedure Act (Ve.).

1. Submission of objections [section 212 (1) of the Ve.]:

Objections may only be submitted in writing to the election bodies; verbal submissions (e.g., by telephone or in person for the record) are not permitted.

Objections must be addressed to the election commission with jurisdiction and competence to decide on them and submitted to the election office operating alongside the commission. The contact details of the local, single-member constituency and regional election commissions can be found by clicking on the links. Objections to be submitted to the National Election Commission (NEC) can be submitted using the contact details available here.

Written objections can be submitted:

- in person;

- by mail;

- electronically.

Objections may be submitted once, provided that the facts of the case remain unchanged. Once submitted, they cannot be modified or supplemented. (Order no. Kvk.IV.37.531/2018/2 order of the Curia of Hungary)

2. Legal basis for the objection [section 208 of the Ve.]:

Objections may be submitted on the grounds of a violation of the legislation governing the election or the fundamental principles of the election and the electoral process (hereinafter collectively referred to as "violation of the law").

The laws governing elections are primarily the substantive laws applicable to each type of election and the Ve. These laws are available under the menu item Voters/Information for voters/Legislation.

3. Who may submit an objection [section 208 of the Ve.]:

Objections may be submitted by the following persons and organizations:

- voters listed in the central register,

- candidates,

- nominating organizations,

- natural and legal persons and organizations without legal personality affected by the case

If a natural person who does not have the right to vote in the given election procedure or a legal person or an organization without legal personality submits an objection, they must prove that they are affected by the case. According to the guiding case law of the Curia of Hungary, being concerned can be estabished if the alleged infringement directly affects the applicant's own rights and obligations. There is no place for ex officio evidence in the examination of being concerned; the burden of proof always lies with the person submitting the objection.

(No.Kvk.I.37.493/2014/3., Kvk.III.37.298/2014/2., Kvk.I.37.597/2014/5., Kvk.I.38.025/2014/3., Kvk.I.37.389/2018/2., Kvk.V.37.506/2018/2., Kvk.V.37.507/2018/2., Kvk.VI.38.006/2019/2., Kvk.II.38.216/2019/2., Kvk.VI.37.639/2019/3., Kvk.I.38.318/2019/2. orders of the Curia of Hungary)

4. Deadline for submitting objections [sections 10 and 209 of the Ve.]:

One of the fundamental rules of the electoral process is that the deadlines set out in the Ve. are forfeiture deadlines. This means that failure to meet them cannot be excused or justified, and failure to meet the deadline results in the loss of rights. The deadlines applied in the procedure are always understood to be calendar days and expire at 4 p.m. on the last day. Due to the forfeiture nature of the deadlines, it is particularly important to meet them when submitting appeals, otherwise they cannot be examined on their merits.

The date of submission of the objection is the date on which it is received by the election commission with the power and competence to decide on it.

The objection must be submitted in such way that it arrives by 4 p.m. on the third day (calendar day) after the alleged violation of the law.

Since the deadline is met if the objection is submitted by 4 p.m. on the third day after the violation of the law, the date of the violation must be indicated in the objection. The date on which the violation was detected or became known is irrelevant, unless the Ve. makes an exception, e.g., an objection due to illegal internet media content.

A different rule applies to ongoing activities. In these cases, the objection may be submitted during the entire period of the alleged activity. In such cases, the deadline for legal remedy does not start from the date of the alleged activity, but from the last date on which the alleged situation still exists. The objection is considered to have been submitted within the deadline if it arrives at the election commission within three days of the observation of the offending situation. (Order no. Kvk.IV.37.531/2018/2. of the Curia of Hungary)

In the case of printed press products, the date of the violation is the date of publication of the press product. (Order no. Kvk.VI.37.415/2018/2. of the Curia of Hungary) If the subject of the objection is a printed press product, regardless of whether it appears on the internet with the same content in a reprint, the rules for submitting objections related to ongoing activities do not apply. [section 209 (3) of the Ve., see also: section 151 (2)]

5. Mandatory content of the objection [section 212 (2) of the Ve.]

5.1. Indication of the violation of the law

The Ve. defines the following forms of violation of the law:

- legislation governing elections [see:point 2],

- fundamental principles of elections [Article 2 (1) and Article 35 (1) of the Fundamental Law] and

- violation of the basic principles of the electoral procedure [section 2 (1) points a)-f) of the Ve.].

In order for the objection to be eligible for substantive review, the violation of the law must be specifically identified. This means, on the one hand, that the violated legal provision must be precisely identified by indicating the source of law, the section number, and the paragraph [e.g., Act XXXVI of 2013, Section 2 (1) point e)]. It is therefore not sufficient for the person submitting the objection to refer for example only in general terms to a violation of the rules of the Ve., it must be specified exactly which provision of the law has been violated in connection with the act in question.

In addition, the objection must contain a legal argument, describe the facts of the violation of the law, and explain why the act or omission in question is unlawful, specifying the exact violation of the law in relation to the legal provision(s) indicated.

The indication of the violation of the law can only be accepted if the place and time of the violation are clearly indicated in the description of the facts. Without this information, it cannot be determined whether the appeal was submitted to the competent electoral body within the deadline.

5.2. Evidence of the violation of the law

The objection must always include evidence of the violation and must always be submitted together with the objection. It is not sufficient to refer to or allude to the evidence.

The only exception to this general rule is legal remedies related to participation in a media campaign. If the applicant is unable to attach the program in question, it is sufficient to indicate it, but even in this case, it is expected to be done as accurately as possible (e.g., by naming the media service provider and media service, and indicating the exact time of broadcast of the program in question – year, month, day, hour, minute).

Due to the short timeframe of the election procedure and the summary nature of the procedure, the election commissions are not able to conduct evidentiary proceedings or take further evidence. For this reason, the objector must always provide specific evidence of the violation of the law. The election commission will assess the objection on the basis of the evidence presented by the person submitting it. The means of evidence may include, in particular, documentary and material evidence, such as statements, documents, witness testimony, photographs, video recordings, etc., provided in relation to the relevant facts or which may be used to establish them.

Facts that are officially known to the electoral bodies and are common knowledge do not need to be proven. However, the former is not the same as facts that are officially available. If the evidence for the objection can be obtained from an electoral body, this does not mean that the fact is officially known to the election commission.

5.3. Details of the person submitting the objection

Whether the person filing the objection is a natural person or an organization, they must provide certain information that can be used to identify them.

The mandatory information for natural persons and organizations is summarized in the table below:

In case of civil organizations, the court registration number is the number recorded in the register of civil organizations and other organizations not classified as companies, in accordance with section 91 (1) point (a) of the Act CLXXXI of 2011 on the registration of civil society organisations with the courts and on the applicable rules and procedures. In case of business associations, the court registration number is the company registration number specified in section 24 (1) point (a) of the Act V of 2006 on company publicity, court proceedings and liquidation.

In case of organizations, in order to establish eligibility for submission, it is also necessary to record the name(s) of the legal representative(s) submitting the objection on behalf of the organization.

In addition to the mentioned mandatory elements, the objection may include the submitter's e-mail address or postal address. Short contact details are important because, in addition to delivery by registered mail, the election office will also send the election commission's decision to the submitter via these channels, so that they can be notified quickly.

If the objection is submitted by an authorised representative, the objection must also include the name of the representative and be accompanied by an authorisation in the appropriate form (public deed or private deed of full probative force).

In summary, the objection can be assessed on the merits if

- it was submitted within the deadline,

- it was submitted by the person entitled to do so and

- it contains the mandatory elements specified in the Ve. (see point 5).

Special rules applicable to national referenda held on the same day as the general election of members of parliament (hereinafter: joint procedure1):

- The deadline for submitting and assessing appeals is 3 days.

- The single-member constituency election commission (PSMC) shall decide on any objections due to violations that only have an impact within the territory of the single-member constituency.

- The National Election Commission shall decide on all objections that do not fall within the competence of the PSMC.

- Objections concerning the participation of media service providers, the press, and movie theatres in election campaigns shall be assessed by the National Election Commission.

- Objections related to regional and localmedia services or press products that are not distributed nationallyshall be assessed by the PMSC competent for the seat or place of residence of the media content provider.

Special rules applicable to the election of local government representatives and mayors, as well as national minority local government representatives, held on the same day as the election of Members of the European Parliament (hereinafter: joint procedure2):

The deadline for submitting and adjudicating appeals is 3 days.

The local election commission (LEC) shall decide on:

a) objections to the activities and decisions of the polling station commission, as well as objections to other acts committed in the polling-station,

b) any objection relating exclusively to individual list, single-member constituency, compensatory list, municipal minority or mayoral elections,

c) any objection related to the election of members of the European Parliament that falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the local election commission.

The regional election commission (REC) shall decide on:

a) all objections relating specifically to county or capital city generally assembly elections, mayoral elections or regional minority elections,

b) all objections that do not fall under point a) and exclusively concern the jurisdiction of the regional election commission,

c) appeals against decisions of the local election commission and appeals against decisions of the head of the local election office regarding the rejection of the appointment of a member of the polling station commission.

The National Election Commission shall decide on:

a) all objections that do not fall within the competence of any LEC or REC,

b) objections related to the participation of media service providers, the press, and movie theaters in election campaigns shall be assessed by the National Election Commission.

Objections related to district and local media services or media services available on demand, or press products not distributed nationally, shall be assessed by the regional election commission competent for the seat or place of residence of the media content provider.