Hungary’s Parliamentary Elections to Be Held on April 3

President János Áder announced on his website today that he had chosen April 3 as the date for Hungary’s parliamentary elections. As he wrote:

32 years ago, Hungary became an independent, democratic country after its first free elections. Thanks go to all who have taken part in rebuilding the nation.

This year, for the ninth time, the citizens of Hungary with the right to vote are free to decide who they will entrust with the management of our common affairs.

The Basic Law and the Electoral Procedure Act contain clear provisions on the date by which the President of Hungary can set a general election to decide Members of Parliament.

Based on this statutory mandate, I hereby set a general election for Members of Parliament at the earliest possible date, April 3, 2022.

The National Electoral Office (NVI) issued a news release on the announcement as well:

For the first time in Hungary, around 8.2 million voters will be able to express their opinion in referendums held at the same time as parliamentary elections. The Office will once again provide the electorate with non-partisan information, and will soon update the Election Information System and the election information website. From the start of the campaign until the end of the election, valasztas.hu will be available for anyone who wants to visit it. NVI also encourages voters to register as a member of the vote counting committee. In this way, everyone will be able to individually contribute to keeping the elections pure and making them run smoothly and transparently, which is in our common interest.

On Instagram, Viktor Orbán announced: “We’ll be there!”

Earlier in the day, news had appeared of a seemingly-official document which indicated that the election would be on April 3. NVI claimed that it was not an official document, but just a rough draft with the first possible date of the election on it.

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