Only political parties may put forward lists for the election of members of the European Parliament. Two or more parties may draw up a joint list, but the same party may only participate in drawing up a single list or a joint list.
Drawing up a list
A list can be put forward by a party that has collected at least 20 000 valid recommendations from voters.
A party may participate in only one list, either individually or jointly.
The number of candidates on the list may not exceed three times the number of seats on the list, i.e. 63.
The list shall be drawn up in the order in which the candidates appear, as determined by the party, which may not be changed after the list has been declared. The same candidate may appear on the list of only one party.
Announcement of the list
The list - together with the submission of the nomination papers - must be submitted to the National Election Commission (address: 1054 Budapest, Alkotmány utca 3., 1054 Budapest) by 4 p.m. on the 37th day before the voting day at the latest.
The list is announced and the details of the candidates on the list are given on a form laid down by law.
- Use the form provided for in the legislation, which will be made available at a later date, and attach to each line of the form the appropriate form available at a later date, depending on whether the candidate is a Hungarian national or a national of another EU country.
Returning the recommendation forms
All the recommendation forms requested for the purpose of recommending the list must be returned to the National Election Office by 4 p.m. on the 37th day before the voting (the deadline for list submission). Any recommendation form that does not contain a recommendation must be returned by 4 p.m. on the 36th day before the vote at the latest. A so-called blank recommendation form without a recommendation is one that does not contain any data. A recommendation form on which the information entered has been crossed out, erased, proofread or otherwise rendered illegible shall not be considered a blank form.
Anyone can hand in the recommendation forms to the National Election Office without a proxy. In the event of failure to return the nomination papers, the National Election Commission is obliged to impose a fine ex officio. The amount of the fine is HUF 1 000 for each nomination paper not returned in due time. The fine imposed by the Election Committee shall be borne jointly and severally by the nominating organisation that has drawn up the list in the case of a single list, and by all nominating organisations involved in drawing up the list in the case of a joint list.
No excuse shall be possible for failure to comply with the obligation, and the fine shall be payable even if the recommendation forms have been lost or destroyed for reasons beyond the control of the nominating organisation on which the fine has been imposed.
Verification of recommendations
The National Election Office will check the nominations submitted within 3 days of the list being notified.
During the verification, a representative of the nominating organisation may be present but may not interfere with the verification process. In addition, if the nominating organisation so requests, the National Election Office shall provide information on the results of the verification.
Registration of the list
The National Election Commission registers the list that meets the legal requirements - at the latest on the 4th day following the notification.
The National Election Commission refuses to register or deletes the candidate from the list,
- who is registered as a candidate in another Member State of the European Union,
- who, according to the competent authority of the Member State of which he is a national, does not have the right to vote.
List, candidate elimination
The registered list is deleted if
- the nominating organisation withdraws the list,
- all the candidates on the list are eliminated before voting begins,
- the National Election Office deletes the nominating organisation that has drawn up the list or all nominating organisations that have participated in drawing up the joint list from the register of nominating organisations, candidates and lists before the start of the voting.
A candidate on the list will be eliminated if, before the start of voting in Hungary
- is removed from the central register before voting begins in Hungary,
- loses the right to stand as a candidate,
- the nominating organisation nominating the candidate or all nominating organisations participating in the nomination of a joint candidate are deleted from the register of nominating organisations, candidates and lists before the start of voting.
- renounces the nomination in writing by 4 p.m. on the second day before the vote, after electronic identification, by submitting a declaration in electronic form to the election office of the election commission deciding on the registration, either in person or by means of a delivering agent.
If a candidate is eliminated from the list, he or she is replaced by the next candidate on the list. A new candidate may not be entered on the notified list.
The list or candidate eliminated shall be deleted from the register of nominating organisations, candidates and lists and from the ballot papers.
Recommendation
To be on the list, a valid recommendation must be certified by the signatures of 20 000 voters.
Requesting and receiving the recommendation forms and collecting the recommendations
Voter recommendations can be collected on the recommendation form requested from the National Election Office (NEC). After the election has been called, a nominating organisation that has been finally registered by the National Election Commission is entitled to apply for a recommendation form. The application for the recommendation sheet is made on the form provided for by law, which will be available later. The application for the recommendation sheet shall be made on the form provided for by law, which will be made available at a later date.
On the basis of the requests for sheets submitted in advance, the NEC shall deliver the recommendation sheets between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the 50th day before the voting at the earliest.
If the nominating organisation considers that the number of recommendation forms requested in advance is insufficient to collect the 20 000 valid recommendations, it may request additional recommendation forms up to the deadline for the announcement of the list, i.e. 16.00 on the 37th day before the vote.
On the recommendation form, the NEO will indicate the name of the nominating organisation - or, in the case of a joint list, of all nominating organisations that have drawn up a joint list - and will provide the recommendation forms with a unique identifier.
The NEO shall issue a receipt for the delivery of the recommendation form. It is strictly forbidden to make copies of the recommendation forms, even if they have not been filled in.
Hungarian citizens who live in Hungary but do not have a residence or domicile outside the European Union are also eligible to vote in elections to the European Parliament, i.e. they can propose a list and vote. For this reason, a separate recommendation form is used to collect recommendations from voters with a Hungarian address and personal identification, and from voters without a Hungarian address or personal identification.
Voters with a Hungarian address and personal identification must state their name, personal identification and Hungarian address on the recommendation form and sign it in their own hand. Voters who do not have a Hungarian address must give their name, the number of their identity card, passport or driving licence issued by a Hungarian authority proving their identity, their date of birth and their date of birth on the recommendation form and must also sign the recommendation form in their own hand. In the presence of the voter, his/her data may be entered on the recommendation form by another person, but his/her handwritten signature is still a prerequisite.
A voter can recommend more than one list, but can only support a list with one recommendation.
Recommendations can be collected anywhere without harassing citizens, with the following exceptions:
- in the workplace of the person collecting the recommendation during working hours,
- at the recommender's workplace during working hours,
- in the course of the collector's employment or other employment relationship,
- during the performance of the recommender's employment or other employment obligations,
- from a person employed by the Hungarian Defence Forces and central state administration bodies in the performance of his or her duties or functions,
- on public transport,
- in the offices of state, local and national self-government bodies,
- in higher education and public education institutions,
- in the premises of a health care provider,
- on private property open to public use without the prior written consent of the owner.
Any recommendation collected in violation of the recommendation rules is invalid!