Hungarian fees abolition referendum, 2008

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Fidesz posters at Hungarian fees abolishment referendum, 2008. 2008-nepszavazas plakatok.jpg
Fidesz posters at Hungarian fees abolishment referendum, 2008.
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A referendum on revoking some medical and tuition fees was held in Hungary on 9 March 2008. [1] The proposals would cancel government reforms which introduced doctor visit fees paid per visitation and medical fees paid per number of days spent in hospital as well as tuition fees in higher education. All three were supported by a majority of voters. [2] Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány stated that the fees would be abolished on 1 April 2008 following the referendum, but that the government had no funds available to replace the income lost for the higher educations institutions and health institutions due to the abolishment of the fees.

Hungary Country in Central Europe

Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq mi) in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and largest city is Budapest. Other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.

Ferenc Gyurcsány Hungarian politician

Ferenc Gyurcsány is a Hungarian entrepreneur and politician. He was Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009. Prior to that, he served as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports between 2003 and 2004.

Contents

Background

The referendum was initiated by opposition party Fidesz against the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). The procedure for the referendum started on 23 October 2006, when Viktor Orbán, the leader of Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union announced they would hand in seven questions to the National Electorate Office, three of which (on abolishing co-payments, daily fees and college tuition fees) were officially approved on 17 December 2007 and called on 24 January 2008. It is assumed likely that the referendum will pass, but it is uncertain whether turnout will be high enough to make it valid; [3] polls indicate about 40% turnout with 80% in favour of rescinding the three reforms. [4]

Fidesz Hungarian political party

Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance is a national-conservative, right-wing populist political party in Hungary.

Hungarian Socialist Party political party in Hungary

The Hungarian Socialist Party, known mostly by its acronym MSZP, is a social-democratic political party in Hungary.

To be valid, the referendum required at least 25% of the about 8 million eligible voters to vote in favour of one of the options.

Questions

  1. Do you agree that inpatient care should be exempt from daily hospital fees with effect from 1 January in the year after the referendum is held on the present issue? [2]
  2. Do you agree that family doctor care, dentistry care and special outpatient care should be exempt from consultation fees with effect from 1 January in the year after the referendum is held on the present issue? [2]
  3. Do you agree that students in state-subsidised higher education should be exempt from tuition fees? [2]

Results

Question I

ChoiceVotes%
For3,385,98184.1
Against640,93615.9
Invalid/blank votes32,268
Total4,059,185100
Registered voters/turnout8,040,12550.5
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, National Election Office

Question II

ChoiceVotes%
For3,321,31382.4
Against708,28317.6
Invalid/blank votes29,605
Total4,059,201100
Registered voters/turnout8,040,12550.5
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, National Election Office

Question III

ChoiceVotes%
For3,309,61682.2
Against715,64217.8
Invalid/blank votes33,863
Total4,059,121100
Registered voters/turnout8,040,12550.5
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, National Election Office

Turnout

On the day of the referendum, the following turnout data was reported:

Time%
By 07:001.13
By 09:007.66
By 11:0018.69
By 13:0026.92
By 15:0035.71
By 17:3046.34
By 19:0050.48

Voting was possible between 6:00 and 19:00. Official results showed that the necessary votes were achieved, with a turnout of over 50% (higher than opinion polls had expected).

Consequences

The MSZP–SZDSZ coalition suffered a heavy defeat. After Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány intended to dismiss Health Minister Ágnes Horváth (SZDSZ), the relationship between the two parties permanently deteriorated. On 31 March 2008, various reform-related disagreements between the MSZP and SZDSZ led the SZDSZ leader János Kóka to announce that his party would quit the coalition by 1 May 2008. This also meant that the MSZP formed the first minority government in Hungary since the end of communism, supported externally by SZDSZ.

The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Hungary.

János Kóka Hungarian politician

János Kóka is a Hungarian businessman, private investor, IT entrepreneur and manager of various enterprises, who served as Minister of Economy and Transport between 2004 and 2007. He was a member of the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) and functioned as its chairman from 2007 to 2008. He also served as leader of the liberal party's parliamentary group until 2010, when SZDSZ failed to win any seats after 20 years. Kóka left the party that year. In 2010 he returned to business life and presently works as Chairman and CEO of Cellum Global Zrt. and Chairman of the Board of Cellum Bulgaria. He is married to Edit Varga.

A minority government, or minority cabinet or minority parliament, is a cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament. It is sworn into office, with or without the formal support of other parties, to enable a government to be formed. Under such a government, legislation can only be passed with the support of enough other members of the legislature to provide a majority, encouraging multi-partisanship. In bicameral parliaments, the term relates to the situation in chamber whose confidence is considered most crucial to the continuance in office of the government.

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p899 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. 1 2 3 4 Nohlen & Stöver, p913
  3. "Hungarian president announces referendum date", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), 24 January 2008.
  4. Hungary's ruling MSZP vows to stick to medical reforms despite referendum - People's Daily Online