Politics of Hungary
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Politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The Prime Minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the President is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position.
Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The party system since the last elections is dominated by the conservative Fidesz. The two larger oppositions are Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Jobbik, there are also opposition parties with no formal faction but representation in parliament (e. g. Politics Can Be Different) The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Hungary is an independent, democratic and constitutional state, which has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Since 1989 Hungary is a parliamentary republic. Legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly that consists of 199 members. Members of the National Assembly are elected for four years.
Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | János Áder | Fidesz | 10 May 2012 |
| Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán | Fidesz | 29 May 2010 |
The President of the Republic, elected by the National Assembly every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, but he is nominally the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and his powers include the nomination of the Prime Minister who is to be elected by a majority of the votes of the Members of Parliament, based on the recommendation made by the President of the Republic. If the President dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties, the Speaker of the National Assembly becomes acting President.
Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-World War II Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Prime Minister has a leading role in the executive branch as he selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them (similarly to the competences of the German federal chancellor). Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings, survive a vote by the Parliament and must be formally approved by the president.
In Communist Hungary, the executive branch of the People's Republic of Hungary was represented by the Council of Ministers.
Legislative branch
The unicameral, 199-member National Assembly (Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. Its members are elected for a four-year term. The election threshold is 5%, but it only applies to the multi-seat constituencies and the compensation seats, not the single-seat constituencies.
Political parties and elections
| Parties and coalitions | Party list | Constituency | Total seats | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | +/− | Seats | Votes | Seats | Seats | +/− | % | +/− | |||
| Fidesz–KDNP party alliance Fidesz–KDNP pártszövetség |
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union (Fidesz) Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség |
2,264,780 | 44.87 |  7.86 |
30 | 2,165,342 | 87 | 117 | 110 |
66.83 | 1.3 | |
| Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt |
7 | 9 | 16 | 20 | ||||||||
| Unity Összefogás |
Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) Magyar Szocialista Párt |
1,290,806 | 25.57 |  6.27 |
21 | 1,317,879 | 8 | 29 | 30 |
19.10 | 3.82 | |
| Together – Party for a New Era (Együtt) Együtt – A Korszakváltók Pártja |
New | 2 | 1 | 3 | New | |||||||
| Democratic Coalition (DK) Demokratikus Koalíció |
3 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
| Dialogue for Hungary (PM) Párbeszéd Magyarországért |
1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| Hungarian Liberal Party (MLP) Magyar Liberális Párt |
1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom |
1,020,476 | 20.22 | 3.55 |
23 | 1,000,637 | 0 | 23 | 24 |
11.56 | 0.62 | ||
| Politics Can Be Different (LMP) Lehet Más a Politika |
269,414 | 5.34 | 2.14 |
5 | 244,191 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
2.51 | 1.64 | ||
| Hungarian Workers' Party Magyar Munkáspárt |
28,323 | 0.56 | 0.45 |
0 | 12,716 | 0 | 0 |  0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Homeland Not For Sale Movement Party (HNEM) A Haza Nem Eladó Mozgalom Párt |
23,507 | 0.47 | New | 0 | 23,037 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| Alliance of Mária Seres (SMS) Seres Mária Szövetségesei |
22,219 | 0.44 | 0.45 |
0 | 20,229 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Party of Greens (Greens) Zöldek Pártja |
18,557 | 0.37 | 0.37 |
0 | 9,392 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Social Democratic Hungarian Civic Party (Soc Dems) Szociáldemokraták Magyar Polgári Pártja |
15,073 | 0.3 | 0.22 |
0 | 12,232 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Together 2014 Party Együtt 2014 Párt |
14,085 | 0.28 | New | 0 | 6,361 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| Party for a Fit and Healthy Hungary (SEM) Sportos és Egészséges Magyarországért Párt |
12,563 | 0.25 | New | 0 | 11,746 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| Community for Social Justice People's Party (KTI) Közösség a Társadalmi Igazságosságért Néppárt |
10,969 | 0.22 | New | 0 | 10,551 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| Democratic Community of Welfare and Freedom (JESZ) Jólét és Szabadság Demokratikus Közösség |
9,925 | 0.2 | New | 0 | 13,051 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| Gypsy Party of Hungary (MCP) Magyarországi Cigány Párt |
8,810 | 0.17 | New | 0 | 9,030 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| Independent Smallholders Party (FKGP) Független Kisgazdapárt |
8,083 | 0.16 | 0.16 |
0 | 7,175 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Unity Party (ÖP) Összefogás Párt |
6,552 | 0.13 | 0.06 |
0 | 6,887 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| New Dimension Party (ÚDP) Új Dimenzió Párt |
2,100 | 0.04 | New | 0 | 1,706 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| New Hungary Party (ÚMP) Új Magyarország Párt |
1,578 | 0.03 | New | 0 | 2,018 | 0 | 0 | New | 0 | 0 | ||
| Others and Independent candidates | – | – | – | – | 34,432 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
0 | 0.26 | ||
| 13 minority lists (needed 22,022 votes/list for a mandate) | 19,543 | 0.38 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total (turnout 61.73% 2.63pp) |
5,047,363 | 100% | – | 93 | 4,908,608 | 106 | 199 | 187 |
100% | – | ||
| Source: National Election Office (100.00% reporting) | ||||||||||||
Judicial branches
A fifteen-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body was last filled on July 2010. Members are elected for a term of twelve years.
The President of the Supreme Court of Hungary and the Hungarian civil and penal legal system he leads is fully independent of the Executive Branch.
The Attorney General or Chief Prosecutor of Hungary is currently fully independent of the Executive Branch, but his status is actively debated
Several ombudsman offices exist in Hungary to protect civil, minority, educational and ecological rights in non-judicial matters. They have held the authority to issue legally binding decisions since late 2003
Financial branch
The central bank, the Hungarian National Bank has been fully independent between 1990–2004, but new legislation gave certain appointment rights to the Executive Branch in November 2004 which is disputed before the Constitutional Court.
Administrative divisions
Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular - megye), 23 urban counties* (megyei jogú városok, singular - megyei jogú város), and 1 capital city** (főváros); Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Békéscsaba*, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Budapest**, Csongrád, Debrecen*, Dunaújváros*, Eger*, Érd*, Fejér, Győr*, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Hódmezővásárhely*, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komárom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nógrád, Nyíregyháza*, Pécs*, Pest, Salgótarján*, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekszárd*, Székesfehérvár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabánya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Veszprém*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*
Involvement in International Organisations
Hungary is a member of the ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by 1 May 2004), FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, Visegrád group, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, and the Zangger Committee.
Ministries
Note: with restructruring and reorganization, this information may change even within a governmental period.
| English name | Hungarian name | Minister |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Home Affairs | Belügyminisztérium | Sándor Pintér |
| Ministry of Rural Development | Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium | Sándor Fazekas |
| Ministry of Defence | Honvédelmi Minisztérium | Csaba Hende |
| Ministry of National Development | Nemzeti Fejlesztési Minisztérium | Zsuzsanna Németh |
| Ministry of Human Resources | Emberi Erőforrás Minisztérium | Zoltán Balog |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Külügyminisztérium | János Martonyi |
| Ministry of Administration and Justice | Közigazgatási és Igazságügyi Minisztérium | Tibor Navracsics |
| Ministry of National Economic Affairs | Nemzetgazdasági Minisztérium | Mihály Varga |
Ministers without portfolio
Notes
References
- ↑ Website of the Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
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