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HUNGARY
Orszaggyules (National Assembly)
ELECTORAL SYSTEM

Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Electoral system module

Parliament name (generic / translated) Országgyülés / National Assembly
Structure of parliament Unicameral
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Electoral Law 30 October 1989
Last amendment: 26 November 2012
Mode of designation directly elected 199
Constituencies - 106 single-member constituencies
- one nationwide constituency (returning 93 members elected under the proportional representation system)
Voting system Mixed: Mixed: Mixed Member Proportional System (MMP)
- First-past-the-post system for 106 constituency seats
- Proportional representation for 93 members elected under national lists: Parties polling more than 5% of the vote are entitled to obtain seats. Two parties with a joint list have to obtain at least 10% and joint lists of three or more parties 15%. Seats under the national list are distributed in proportion to the votes cast and the surplus votes of the parties (see below) according to the d’Hondt formula.

Parliamentary seats can also be obtained indirectly by party candidates via the so-called “surplus votes” cast in single member constituencies. They comprise the votes cast for party candidates who lost and the votes cast for party candidates which have effectively not been needed to obtain seats (the difference in the number of votes between on the most successful and second candidates in a given constituency).

Each elector residing in Hungary casts two votes, one for an individual candidate and one for a party list. Voters having no domicile in Hungary may vote for a party list. Voters who register as members of a national minority (see note) shall cast their ballot for the list of the respective minority rather than for national parties.

Note: The 13 national minorities officially recognized in Hungary are Armenian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Polish, Roma, Romanian, Ruthenian, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian and Ukrainian. For the minority list, only a quarter (1/4) of the votes required for a "normal" party mandate is needed to obtain the first mandate. National minorities that do not win seats may delegate spokespersons to the parliament.

Vacancies arising between general elections are filled through by-elections (in single-member constituencies), while vacancies on national list seats are filled by the party concerned from among the candidates appearing on its original list.
Voting is not compulsory.
Voter requirements - age: 18 years*
*Married citizens of at least 16 years of age by election day also have the right to vote.
- Hungarian citizens (regardless of place of residence) or refugees, immigrants, persons with permanent resident status, and European Union citizens who have a residence or a domicile in Hungary

- disqualifications: insanity/mental illness, guardianship, holders of temporary entry permits, undocumented immigrants, persons barred from public affairs by court decision, imprisonment, institutional medical care pursuant to criminal procedure
CANDIDATES
Eligibility - qualified electors
- age: 18 years
- Hungarian citizenship, including naturalized citizens
- ineligibilities: insanity/mental illness, guardianship, holders of temporary entry permits, undocumented immigrants, persons barred from public affairs by court decision, imprisonment, institutional medical care pursuant to criminal procedure
Incompatibilities - President of the Republic
- members of the Constitutional Court
- certain other public or State offices
- judges
- membership of the armed, police or security forces
Candidacy requirements - party or independent candidatures
- support of at least 500 electors is required per candidature (for single-member constituencies)
- national lists are reserved for parties contesting seats in at least 27 constituencies in at least nine counties and Budapest.

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