Hungarian Alliance: New Legislation Would Stifle Fair Political Competition

Bratislava, 21 July (TASR) – The non-parliamentary Hungarian Alliance has criticised the proposed amendment to the Political Parties Act, claiming that it would undermine fair political competition. The party is opposed in particular to the reduction of state contributions to political parties during economic downturns and to the proposed increase in the threshold for refunding electoral deposits. At a press conference on Monday, party leader Laszlo Gubik and deputy chair Peter Ory outlined several alternative proposals. "Fair political competition, pluralism in a democratic system and fostering a political culture in which regionally strong and ethnic-minority parties have a place – these are the values that we believe are threatened by the proposed amendments to the law on political parties and the electoral law," stated Gubik. The Alliance rejected the idea of cutting state subsidies by 30 percent if the national deficit exceeds 3 percent of GDP. It warned that such measures could drive smaller parties into dependence on oligarchs. The party also objected to the possibility of reducing state funding during the current parliamentary term. Another major criticism concerned raising the threshold for refunding electoral deposits from 2 percent to 5 percent of the votes. "That could be fatal for smaller parties," said Gubik. The Hungarian Alliance presented several of its own legislative proposals, including the introduction of a legal definition for ethnic-minority parties and the creation of a so-called 'ethnic mandate'. Under this proposal, such parties would be entitled to parliamentary representation based on the number of votes received. For example, a party securing 15,000 votes per mandate would gain a seat for each multiple of that number, provided that it passed a minimum 2-percent national threshold. The party also proposed allowing parties to receive state contributions for elections to regional councils and the European Parliament. Another suggestion was to grant a parliamentary mandate to parties receiving at least 7 percent of the vote in at least two regions. The Interior Ministry has submitted the draft amendment for interdepartmental review. The proposal seeks to introduce changes in party financing, such as cutting state subsidies in times of economic hardship and raising the threshold for eligibility for public funding. Under the new rules, only parties entering parliament would qualify for financial support. The electoral deposit for general and European Parliament elections would also be increased. mf/df