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A presidential election was held in Hungary on 26 February 2024. The President of the Republic is elected by Members of Parliament in an indirect election. [1]
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A presidential election was held in Hungary on 26 February 2024. The President of the Republic is elected by Members of Parliament in an indirect election. [1]
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The opposition alliance United for Hungary called for the direct election of the President of the Republic in their manifesto for the 2022 parliamentary election, which would require amending or replacing the current constitution of Hungary. [2] Accordingly, the opposition parties held a rally in Budapest on 25 February, the day before the election, calling for direct presidential elections. [3]
On 10 February 2024, President Katalin Novák announced her resignation (effective upon approval by Parliament) over the controversial pardon of a vice principal of a foster home in Bicske, who tried to cover up the principal's crimes when the latter was charged for child molestation. [4] The vice principal's pardon became known to the public on 2 February 2024, after which protests demanding Novák's resignation took place. [5]
Under the current Constitution of Hungary adopted by the Fidesz–KDNP government coalition in 2011, the President of the Republic is elected via secret ballot by the Members of Parliament, no sooner than sixty but no later than thirty days before expiry of the mandate (5 years) of the previous office-holder, or if his or her mandate terminated prematurely, within thirty days of the termination. The constitution authorizes the Speaker of the National Assembly to set the date for the election. [6]
A presidential candidate needs the written nomination of at least one-fifth of the Members of Parliament (thus 40 MPs), who may not nominate more than one candidate. [6] In the first round of the election, a two-thirds majority of all incumbent MPs is required to elect the president. If this condition is not fulfilled, a second round is held between the two candidates who received the highest and second highest numbers of votes in the first round. (Since 1990, there have been no more than two candidates in any presidential election.) A simple majority of the voting MPs is then sufficient. If only one candidate is nominated, the assembly votes on whether to confirm or reject their election to the presidency, with each MP being allowed to vote either for or against, but not to cast their vote for an alternative candidate. [6]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamás Sulyok | Independent | 134 | 96.40 | |
| Against | 5 | 3.60 | ||
| Total | 139 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 139 | 95.21 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 7 | 4.79 | ||
| Total votes | 146 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 198 | 73.74 | ||
| Source: Telex, [7] Xinhua [8] | ||||
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An indirect presidential election was held in Hungary on 10 March 2022. Katalin Novák became the first female President of Hungary after winning an absolute majority.
Events in the year 2023 in Hungary.
Events in the year 2024 in Hungary.
The Katalin Novák presidential pardon scandal erupted on 2 February 2024, when it was revealed that in 2023, President of Hungary Katalin Novák pardoned Endre Kónya, the former deputy director of the Kossuth Zsuzsa Children's Home in Bicske, who was convicted of helping to cover up the pedophile crimes of his superior by forcing one of the victims to withdraw their confession. The case caused a major public outcry, and led to Novák's resignation as President of Hungary on 10 February 2024. Shortly afterwards, former Minister of Justice Judit Varga also resigned, both from her parliamentary seat and from her role as leader of the Fidesz list for the European Parliament election. It was she who, as Justice Minister, countersigned Katalin Novák's pardon decision.
Tamás Sulyok is a Hungarian lawyer who is serving as President of Hungary since 2024. He was the president of the Constitutional Court from 2016 until 2024. He was the Fidesz–KDNP candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
