Politics of Hungary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hungary

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Hungary

President László Sólyom Prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány National Assembly Political parties Fidesz - MDF - MSZP - SZDSZ Other parties Elections 1998 - 2002 - 2006 Counties EU Politics Foreign relations

Other countries · Politics Portal view • talk • edit

Politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Hungary is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The party system is dominated by the socialist Hungarian Socialist Party and the conservative Hungarian Civic Union or FIDESZ. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Republic of Hungary is an independent, democratic and constitutional state. Since the constitutional amendment of 23 October 1989, Hungary is a parliamentary republic. Legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly that consists of 386 members. Members of the National Assembly are elected for four years.

Contents 1 Executive branch 2 Legislative branch 3 Political parties and elections 4 Judicial branch 5 Financial branch 6 Administrative divisions 7 Member of the international organizations 8 Ministries 8.1 Ministers without portfolio

[edit] Executive branch

Main office holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
President	László Sólyom		5 August 2005
Prime Minister	Ferenc Gyurcsány	MSZP	29 September 2004

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.

Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-WWII 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.

[edit] Legislative branch

Main article: Elections in Hungary

The unicameral, 386-member National Assembly (Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. The National Assembly (Országgyűlés) has 386 members, elected for a four year term. 176 members are elected in single-seat constituencies, 152 by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies, and 58 so-called compensation seats are distributed based on the number of votes "lost" (i.e., the votes that did not produce a seat) in either the single-seat or the multi-seat constituencies. The election threshold is 5%, but it only applies to the multi-seat constituencies and the compensation seats, not the single-seat constituencies.

[edit] Political parties and elections

For other political parties see List of political parties in Hungary. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Hungary.

[discuss] – [edit]
Summary of the 9 April and 23 April 2006 National Assembly (Országgyűlés) elections

Parties	List Votes	%	Constituencies 1st round	%	Constituencies 2nd round	%	Seats
Hungarian Socialist Party (Magyar Szocialista Párt, MSZP)	2,336,705	43.21	2,175,316	40.26	1,510,360	46.62	186
Alliance of Free Democrats (Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége, SZDSZ)	351,612	6.50	340,750	6.31	64,501	1.99	18
Joint candidates MSZP-SZDSZ	154,616			2.86	72,802	2.25	6
Fidesz-KDNP Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union (Fidesz - Magyar Polgári Szövetség) Christian Democratic People's Party (Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt, KDNP)	2,272,979	42.03	2,269,244	41.96	1,511,426	46.65	164
Hungarian Democratic Forum (Magyar Demokrata Fórum, MDF)	272,831	5.04	238,570	4.41	15,973	0.50	11
Joint candidates Fidesz/KNDP-MDF	34,109			0.63	33,029	1.02	0
Joint candidates MDF and other parties	14,838			0.27	3,640	0.11	0
MIÉP-Jobbik Third Way Alliance of Parties (MIÉP-Jobbik a Harmadik Út pártszövetség) Hungarian Justice and Life Party (Magyar Igazság és Élet Pártja) Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom)	119,007	2.20	92,802	1.70	231	0.01	0
Hungarian Communist Workers' Party (Magyar Kommunista Munkáspárt)	21,955	0.41	16,379	0.30			0
Centre Party (Centrum Összefogás Magyarországért)	17,431	0.32	14,126	0.26			0
Association for Somogy (Somogyért)			9,457	0.17	13,329	0.43	1
Total	5,408,050	100.0	5,403,691	100.0	3,239,752	100.0	386
Source: Valasztas.hu

[edit] Judicial branch

An eleven member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body has never been filled completely and currently convenes with just nine members, which verges on incapacitation.

The President of the Supreme Court 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 can issue legally binding decisions since late 2003.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular - megye), 20 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*

[edit] Member of the international organizations

Hungary is member of ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by May 1, 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, Zangger Committee

[edit] Ministries

Note: with restructruring and reorganization, this information may change even within a governmental period.

• Prime Minister's Office (Miniszterelnöki Hivatal)
• Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development (Földművelésügyi és Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Defence (Honvédelmi Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Transport (Gazdasági és Közlekedési Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Education and Culture (Oktatási és Kultúrális Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water (Környezetvédelmi és Vízügyi Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Finance (Pénzügyminisztérium)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Külügyminisztérium)
• Ministry of Health (Egészségügyi Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement (Igazságügyi és Rendészeti Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (Önkormányzati és Területfejlesztési Minisztérium)
• Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (Szocuális és Munkaügyi Minisztérium)

[edit] Ministers without portfolio

• Minister without Portfolio responsible for/in charge of European affairs (Európai integrációs ügyek koordinációjáért felelős tárca nélküli miniszter)
• Minister without portfolio for regional development and housing/convergence (Regionális fejlesztésért és felzárkóztatásért felelős tárca nélküli miniszter)

(Sources differ on the English names.)