Hungary's right-wing government again tinkers with election rules

Deputies from the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz used their majority in the parliamentary judiciary committee on Tuesday to push through changes to the country's electoral law.

These are likely to give Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's party an advantage in the next regular parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held in 2026.

One of the changes stipulates that in the future only 16 instead of 18 direct mandates will be awarded in the capital Budapest, where Fidesz's support has been weak.

Even taking into account the population changes within the greater Budapest area, the withdrawal of two Budapest direct mandates was hard to justify, said election researcher Robert Laszlo from the Budapest think tank Political Capital.

Another change is that ballot envelopes no longer have to be issued at polling stations. Opposition members see this as a step towards eliminating the secrecy of the ballot.

"This measure opens the door to voter intimidation, especially in small communities where local officials can easily monitor voter choices," wrote the liberal opposition party Momentum in a statement.

The draft consented to by the judiciary committee must now be approved by parliament, something that is considered certain because Fidesz has the two-thirds majority needed to change laws at the constitutional level.

In the past, the party of the right-wing populist Orbán, which has been in power in Hungary since 2010, has repeatedly changed the electoral laws before elections to gain advantages.

There is nervousness in Orbán's ranks since former Fidesz insider Péter Magyar broke with the governing party in February this year and positioned himself as Orbán's challenger.

His Tisza Party (Party for Respect and Freedom) won almost 30% of the vote in the European elections in June, having entered the fray at short notice. In the latest polls, it has overtaken Fidesz.

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