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1. Main Concepts

2. Institutions of representative democracy

Main concepts

Active participation is a crucial element of the transition from youth to adulthood. Active participation has several forms such as civic participation, cultural engagement in politics or active online presence. Young people in Hungary can participate in parliamentary elections and can be members of political party organisations.

Parliamentary elections

In Hungary, parliamentary elections are organised every four years, while local governments and the European parliamentary elections are organized every fifth year. According to the Fundamental Law, all Hungarian citizens of adult age (18 years old) have the right to vote and to be elected. The election is conducted by secret ballot and direct suffrage.

Suffrage or its full exercise is dependent on the place of residence. The court might prohibit those people who have committed crimes or have limited capacity to act from exercising the right of suffrage.

Since 2014, the National Assembly has had 199 seats instead of the previous 386. 106 seats are elected in single-member constituencies, and the other 93 are assigned based on national lists. The election system consists of a one-round voting. In the single-member constituency, a simple majority is enough to get into the National Assembly (relative majority election system); in proportional representation from national lists, a 5% threshold must be reached.

Institutions of representative democracy

According to the Fundamental Law of Hungary, Hungary is an independent, democratic constitutional state, and its form of government is a parliamentary republic. The central decision-making body is the parliament/National Assembly. The government holds the supreme executive power while jurisdiction is exercised by the courts. At the local level, the local governments ensure the representation of citizens.

Parliament/National Assembly

Through direct and secret elections, the members of the parliament are elected for 4 years by the citizens who have equal and universal suffrage. The current parliament/National Assembly (with 199 members) has been operating since 2 May 2022. Its main scene of operation is the plenary session where all members are together. Its tasks, among others, are legislation, accepting the state budget and approving its execution, and electing different public dignitaries and the Prime Minister.

President of the Republic

The President of the Republic is elected for 5 years. His/her main tasks include the introduction of new laws, the preliminary examination of laws for their conformity with the Fundamental Law, and the return of laws to parliament for reconsideration. Other tasks are the appointment, dismissal and nomination of different public dignitaries. The President of the Republic also has a role in scrutinising parliament.

Main executive body

The main executive body is the government. It consists of the Prime Minister and the ministers, who are responsible for directing the ministries that administer various public policies. The government is accountable to the parliament, and it acts on behalf of the majority. It is the main body of public administration. The absolute majority of the parliament elects the Prime Minister.

Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court of Hungary is the main body protecting the Fundamental Law. The parliament elects the fifteen members of the Court with a qualified majority (the vote of two-thirds of all representatives) for a term of twelve years. In the Hungarian judicial system the courts are responsible for jurisdiction. They decide on criminal and civil procedures. Moreover, they are also responsible for the jurisdiction of public administration. The Curia is the highest judicial authority in Hungary. It decides whether regional court decisions are in conflict with the law, and if so, it exterminates the regional court decision.

Local self-government

In Hungary, local public authorities can handle the local public issues democratically according to the interests of the inhabitants. The Act CLXXXIX of 2011 on the local governments of Hungary (2011. évi CLXXXIX. törvény Magyarország helyi önkormányzatairól) defines the rights and responsibilities of the local governments. The local governments are independent of the central power, protected by the Fundamental Law of Hungary.

The tasks and responsibilities of the local self-government are practised by the board member representatives and the mayor leads it. The citizens shall elect the representatives of the Board by direct and secret ballot. Citizens shall have equal and universal suffrage. Local governments, state authorities, and bodies cooperate to benefit community objectives.