Elections to the European Parliament in Hungary are by proportional representation, by list vote, where voters can vote for one list. A list may be drawn up by parties registered in Hungary which are legally registered in the court register of NGOs at the time the election is called.
The party intending to put up a list for the election must be registered as a nominating organisation with the National Election Committee after the election has been called. Parties that submit a joint list must register separately as nominating organisations.
The registration of a party as a nominating organisation is subject to the procedure for the 2024 election of members of the European Parliament, local government representatives and mayors and representatives of minority self-governments in a joint procedure. The P5 form (hereinafter referred to as the P5 form) is available as specified in IM Decree 2/2024 (III. 11.) on the detailed rules for the implementation of the tasks falling within the competence of the election offices, on the determination of the scope of the national aggregated data of the election results, on the detailed rules for the performance of the IT tasks of the metropolitan and county government offices in connection with elections, and on the forms to be used in the joint procedure. The party may be registered by the person authorised to represent it. This person (or, in the case of joint signatories, persons) must therefore sign the P5 form in his/her own hand.
Official name, abbreviated name and logo of the nominating organisation
The P5 form for the declaration must include the name of the party, the abbreviated name of the organisation of its choice and, if the declaration is made, the logo. An important rule is that the official name of the party must be the name legally registered in the register of civil organizations. The abbreviated name shall be primarily the abbreviated name as it appears in the register of civil organizations, and only in the absence of such a name may any other abbreviated name chosen by the organisation, which may not, however, be identical with the name or abbreviated name of any other organisation already registered in the register of civil organizations or in the register of nominating organisations, candidates and lists. If there is no registered abbreviated name for the party in the court register, it is important to choose an abbreviated name that has a grammatical link with the official name of the party (e.g. an abbreviation or acronym) or a logical link with the party's activities. The party's abbreviated name and logo will only appear on the ballot paper if they are provided or attached at the time of registration. If the party fails to do so at the time of registration, the application for the abbreviated name or emblem to be shown on the ballot paper may not be submitted subsequently.
The precise rules on the resolution and format of the logo are set out in the P5 notification form. With regard to the emblem, it should also be noted that according to Article 5(1) of Act CCII of 2011 on the Use of the Coat of Arms and Flag of Hungary and State Decorations, the coat of arms of Hungary and its separable parts, the shield of the coat of arms and the Holy Crown may not be used as symbols or parts of symbols of a nominating organisation.
Registration of the nominating organisation
The existence of the registered organisation and the authenticity of its data in the judicial register of organisations are checked by the National Election Office. Subsequently, the National Election Commission registers all candidate organisations that meet the legal requirements, at the latest on the fourth day following their notification. The public electronic register of the nominating organisations, candidates and lists notified and registered is kept by the National Election Office and the election office attached to the registering election commission. The National Election Office takes the data of candidates and nominating organisations from the central register, the register of personal data and addresses and the court register of civil organisations. If a party registered as a nominating organisation is deleted from the court register of organisations, the nominating organisation is also deleted from the register of nominating organisations.
Representatives of the nominating organisation
The following persons are entitled to represent the nominating organisation (party) in the election procedure:
1. the legal representative(s), i.e. the person who is the party's representative according to the court register of civil organizations,
2. the person authorised to represent the party on form P5 for the purpose of registering the party as a nominating organisation,
3. persons authorised by the persons referred to in points 1 and 2,
4. the proxy holder under points 1-3 may grant an additional power of attorney (subdelegate the right of representation) by means of a power of attorney in a private or public document with full probative value. The power of attorney obtained in this way must be attached to the petition (e.g. a request for legal remedy) or presented at the competent election office.