campaign finance

January 11, 2010, 12:50 CET

Fidesz operative preditcs "short, cheap" campaign focusing on corruption

Hungary's main opposition Fidesz plans to run a short and cheap campaign, the party's campaign chief Gabor Kubatov told MTI on Monday. Fidesz, which is widely expected to win a landslide in the April election, wants a short, cheap and... [read complete entry]

December 09, 2009, 01:08 CET

Can our witch of a Nan back in Nantwich give money to the Gárda?

In an alarming indication of our likely inability to melt into cyberspace if the shit really hits the fan here in Hungary, someone just called us on the telephone, from England, wanting to know if the official ban on the... [read complete entry]

November 18, 2009, 09:49 CET

Hungary scores poorly on new international corruption ranking

Hungary scored 5.1 points on Transparency International's 1- to 10-point Corruption Perceptions Index for 2009, TI Hungary managing director Noemi Alexa said on Tuesday. Hungary's score put it at 46th place in the global ranking, up one position from a... [read complete entry]

November 06, 2009, 01:16 CET

The Politics.hu Interview: Bálint Molnár, Freedom House Europe

Yesterday's news of the collapse of cross-party talks over campaign finance reform again put the spotlight on the murky nexus between money and elections in Hungary. The negotiations, which were taking place in advance of next year's general elections, were... [read complete entry]

November 05, 2009, 10:32 CET

NGOs cancel cross-party talks on campaign finance, claim Fidesz at fault

Transparency International (TI) and Freedom House will not recommence last week’s failed cross-party talks on campaign funding. The international civil groups said they made the decision after Fidesz gave no substantive response to their reform proposals, but underlined that they... [read complete entry]

November 02, 2009, 11:21 CET

Fidesz proposes election finance reforms

The main opposition Fidesz and its Christian Democrat ally reject the idea of raising the funds available for campaign financing but advocate plans to shorten the election campaign and cut its costs, a senior Fidesz official told a press conference... [read complete entry]

October 27, 2009, 11:04 CET

Parties debate proposal on reforming campaign finance system

Hungary's parliamentary parties at talks on Monday failed to agree on a proposal by two international NGOs to clean up campaign financing, with the main opposition saying they would come back to the table in a week's time. The five... [read complete entry]

October 22, 2009, 09:31 CET

Socialists say early passage of campaign finance bill a priority

The Socialist Party would like Parliament to pass a bill on campaign funding as soon as possible, caucus director József Tóbiás told Népszabadság on Wednesday. He said Socialist officials will attend talks initiated by Freedom House and Transparency International Hungary... [read complete entry]

October 20, 2009, 09:57 CET

TV journalist films evidence of electoral fraud

A staff member of MTV's "A szólás szabadsága" show paid local residents Ft 1,000 each to sign local election nomination slips, and recorded his actions on camera to prove that anybody can obtain such signatures for cash. By-elections will be... [read complete entry]

October 08, 2009, 11:31 CET

NGOs urge cleanup of Hungary's campaign financing system

Hungarian political parties should agree on adopting more transparent campaign-financing rules, two international NGOs said on Thursday. Freedom House Europe and Transparency International held a joint news conference to urge the ruling Socialists and main opposition Fidesz to create legislation... [read complete entry]

October 02, 2009, 10:17 CET

Support grows for "down payment" system for allocating election ballot spaces

Five Hungarian polling and market research agencies said on Thursday that they supported the National Election Committee's (OVB) proposal to replace pre-election candidate petition slips with a down payment which is refunded if the party clears the 5 percent threshold... [read complete entry]

September 18, 2009, 09:41 CET

Costs of 2010 elections expected to near Ft 15 billion

The parliamentary, local and presidential elections in 2010 will cost Ft 14.9 billion, next year's draft budget reveals. The figure was Ft 10.5 billion in 2006, although no presidential elections were held that year. The draft allocates Ft 3.8 billion... [read complete entry]

June 08, 2009, 09:35 CET

Election commission cries foul over "robot" phone calls

The National Election Commission (OVB) on Sunday declared illegal the automated telephone calls that encouraged people to vote for a particular party on Sunday. Such campaigning is considered a violation of the campaign silence rule. OVB will decide at a... [read complete entry]

April 28, 2009, 12:14 CET

Fidesz to kick off "low cost" European Parliamentary campaign

Fidesz will begin its European Parliament election drive at Kós Károly sétány in Budapest’s City Park at 4 p.m. on Saturday, campaign manager András Gyürk told reporters on Monday.... [read complete entry]