| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Országgyülés / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 11 April 2010
25 April 2010 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 22 January 2010, President László Sólyom announced that parliamentary elections would be held on 11 and 25 April. The 2010 elections were the first to be held following the global economic crisis, which severely hit the country of 10 million inhabitants.
In the previous elections held in April 2006, the ruling coalition, the Hungarian Socialist Party- Alliance of Free Democrats (MSZP-SZDSZ), led by the then Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany (MSZP), won 210 of the 386 seats at stake, becoming the first government to be returned to office since the collapse of the communist regime in 1990. Its main rival, the Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP), won 164 seats. The Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) and the Association for Somogy County (Somogyért) took 11 seats and one seat respectively.
Shortly after the 2006 elections, the government's popularity was severely damaged due to a leaked tape recording in which Prime Minister Gyurcsany admitted that his party had lied about the state of the economy to win the 2006 elections. That triggered a two-week riot and demands for his government to resign.
The country enjoyed high economic growth until the global economic crisis hit in late 2008. The country avoided bankruptcy thanks to a 20-billion-euro international bail-out from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Union. However, the government failed to push through measures to revive the economy, and Prime Minister Gyurcsany resigned in March 2009. The then Minister of the Economy, Mr. Gordon Bajnai (MSZP), agreed to take over the post until the 2010 elections provided the National Assembly passed the stringent economic measures required under the bail-out. His government's austerity programme included tax rises and salary and pension cuts.
The unemployment rate remained high - nearly 11 per cent in March 2010. The MSZP was further damaged by a series of corruption scandals involving its members and officials. Consequently, the FIDESZ-KDNP - led by former prime minister Viktor Orbán - was leading in the 2010 election polls. Other major contenders included the Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik), a right wing party, and Politics Can Be Different (LMP), a green-liberal party founded in February 2009.
The FIDESZ-KDNP campaigned under the slogan "The time has come!" ("Itt az ido!). It promised to create 1 million jobs over 10 years, boost lending, support small business and cut taxes.
The Jobbik, founded in 2003, is known for its anti-Roma and anti-Semitic rhetoric. It won nearly 15 per cent of the votes in the European Parliament elections in June 2009. The Jobbik leader Gabor Vona argued that "Hungary belongs to the Hungarians". In 2007, the Jobbik established the Hungarian Guard, whose members don uniforms similar to those worn by the country's pre-World War II fascist Arrow Cross Party. Mr. Vona pledged to wear the uniform of the Hungarian Guard on his first day in parliament.
The Jobbik's participation in the 2010 elections caused much controversy. The FIDESZ-KDNP said it would never enter into a coalition with the Jobbik. Prime Minister Bajnai (MSZP), who was not running in the 2010 polls, urged moderate parties to unite against extremists. He argued that the Jobbik would demolish Hungarian democracy, publicly labelling it "the monster". The media focused on a possible power shift and the emergence of the extremist force in the National Assembly. The MSZP endorsed Mr. Attila Mesterházy, a 36-year-old economist, as its candidate for Prime Minister.
One of the LMP leaders, Mr. Andras Schiffer, pledged to deliver a "green revolution" comprising not only environmental protection goals, but also solutions to employment problems. The LMP also promised to restore hope in public affairs, focusing on transparent, anti-corruption policies in order to renew Hungarian democracy. Despite being a newcomer, the LMP was reportedly gaining ground thanks to its motivated activists.
In the first round of the elections held on 11 April, 64.38 per cent of the 8 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
A total of 265 out of 386 members were elected in the first round. The FIDESZ-KDNP won a resounding victory, winning 206 of the 265 confirmed seats in the first round. It swept all 119 seats elected from the single-member constituencies. The MSZP came in a distant second, winning only 28 seats. The Jobbik came in third with 26 seats, entering parliament for the first time. The LMP won five seats. The MDF failed to surpass the five-per-cent threshold. Its leader, Ms. Ibolya David, announced that she would resign.
In the second round held on 25 April, the FIDESZ-KDNP won an additional 57 seats, thus controlling 263 in the 386-member National Assembly. The MSZP and the Jobbik won a total of 59 and 47 seats respectively. The LMP followed with 16 seats while one independent candidate took the remainder. In all, 35 women were elected.
On 14 May, the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and elected Mr. Pál Schmitt (FIDESZ), a former vice-president of the European Parliament, as its new Speaker. On the same day, President László Sólyom proposed to the National Assembly Mr. Viktor Orbán as new Prime Minister.
On 29 May, Mr. Viktor Orbán (FIDESZ) was sworn in as the new Prime Minister. His FIDESZ-KNDP led the first non-coalition government since the return to multi-party elections in 1990.
On 29 June, the National Assembly elected Speaker Schmitt (FIDESZ) as the country's President. He was sworn in on 6 August and was replaced by Mr. László Kövér of the same party. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 11 April 2010 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
8'034'394
5'172'222 (64.38%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Round no 2 | 25 April 2010 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
2'486'111
1'160'117 (46.66%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
Single-member votes |
Territorial votes |
% |
|
|
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) |
|
5'439'257 |
2'732'965 |
2'706'292 |
|
|
|
| Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) |
|
2'078'802 |
1'088'374 |
990'428 |
|
|
|
| Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) |
|
1'692'210 |
836'774 |
855'436 |
|
|
|
| Politics Can Be Different (LMP) |
|
643'096 |
259'220 |
383'876 |
|
|
|
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) - Entrepreneurs' Party |
|
10'661 |
10'661 |
0 |
|
|
|
| Independents |
|
381 |
381 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
Single-member votes |
Territorial votes |
% |
|
|
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) |
|
|
620'232 |
|
|
|
|
| Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) |
|
|
326'361 |
|
|
|
|
| Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) |
|
|
141'415 |
|
|
|
|
| Politics Can Be Different (LMP) |
|
|
43'437 |
|
|
|
|
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) - Entrepreneurs' Party |
|
|
8'796 |
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Single-member seats |
Territorial seats |
National seats |
2nd round total |
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) |
206
|
119 |
87 |
0 |
|
| Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) |
28
|
0 |
28 |
0 |
|
| Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) |
26
|
0 |
26 |
0 |
|
| Politics Can Be Different (LMP) |
5
|
0 |
5 |
0 |
|
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) - Entrepreneurs' Party |
0
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Independents |
0
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Single-member seats |
Territorial seats |
National seats |
2nd round total |
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) |
262
|
53 |
0 |
3 |
56 |
| Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) |
59
|
2 |
0 |
29 |
31 |
| Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) |
47
|
0 |
0 |
21 |
21 |
| Politics Can Be Different (LMP) |
16
|
0 |
0 |
11 |
11 |
| Hungarian Civic Union-Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) - Entrepreneurs' Party |
1
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Independents |
1
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
351
35
9.07%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
Unknown
|
22
82
127
115
30
9
1
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Political party official |
109 |
| Civil service and local authority administration |
102 |
| Education profession |
32 |
| Others |
29 |
| Legal profession |
29 |
| Entrepreneur |
23 |
| Physician, dentist |
12 |
| Civil society activity |
10 |
| Agriculture/farming |
8 |
| Economist |
7 |
| Architect, surveyor, engineer |
6 |
| Journalism, broadcasting, media |
5 |
| Research/sciences |
5 |
| International civil servant |
3 |
| Writer, literary, artist |
2 |
| Home-maker, care-taker |
2 |
| Clerical, secretarial, administration |
1 |
| Finance, management or business |
1 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- National Assembly (04.05.2010, 04.03.2011, 01.04.2011, 24.01.2012, 01.01.2014)
- http://www.valasztas.hu |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
