Fears of electoral irregularities on both sides of the political spectrum

A liberal commentator fears that the new permanent residence regulations open up the possibility of electoral fraud. A pro-government pundit, on the other hand, thinks that the US will interfere with the Hungarian election next year and help ‘pro-migration and pro-LBGT’ politicians to defeat Fidesz.

In Magyar Narancs, Róbert László writes that the new permanent address registration rules (see BudaPost November 23) enable parties to register voters at fictitious permanent addresses in key electoral districts where a couple of hundred votes may tip the balance. The left-wing political analyst recalls that in some municipalities in eastern Hungary, hundreds of trans-border Hungarians, mostly from Ukraine, registered before the 2018 election. László adds that the new rules also make it possible for parties to register some of their voters who live in Hungary in new addresses to boost support in highly contested districts. László recommends that the electoral committee should increase transparency and publish municipal residence data on a daily basis to enable participants and observers to spot and identify mass address registrations intended to change the electoral balance.

In Magyar Nemzet, József Horváth, a leading analyst of the pro-government think tank Center for Fundamental Rights, suspects that the US government will try to influence the Hungarian Parliamentary election next April. Horváth recalls that in the past couple of months, several national sovereigntist politicians lost power in Central and Eastern Europe to liberal multiculturalist contenders. Horváth mentions the example of Bulgaria, where the anti-immigration and anti-LBGT GERB party of Boyko Borisov was voted out of office, in Horváth’s interpretation, because ‘Soros-funded NGOs provoked demonstrations and put the government under pressure’. In a passing remark, Horváth also ascribes the defeat of Strache and Kurz in Austria, Babis in Czechia and Fico in Slovakia to media campaigns orchestrated by foreign sources. He goes on to claim that these foreign actors want to see pro-US, pro-migration and pro-LGBT politicians in power. Horváth concludes by taking it for granted that similar campaigns will be launched in Hungary to defeat the governing parties.

Tags: 2022, election, fraud, Soros, transborder