Survey: Hungary is only a partly free state like Senegal or Peru

According to the latest report of Freedom House, Hungary lost one point on a list ranking countries based on people’s access to political rights and civil liberties. Hungary received 69 out of the 100 points with which it fell into the category of the partly free countries. That means that the country’s ranking is a bit better than India and Ecuador but could not precede Senegal or Peru.

According to freedomhouse.org, “Freedom House rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries and territories through its annual Freedom in the World report. Individual freedoms—ranging from the right to vote to freedom of expression and equality before the law—can be affected by state or non-state actors.“

Based on the results, Hungary received 26/40 on political rights. In the introductory overview, they wrote, for example, that PM Viktor Orbán “pushed through constitutional and legal changes that have allowed it to consolidate control over the country’s independent institutions.” They added that recently, the government accepted measures hampering operations of opposition groups, critical journalists, universities, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

Moreover, they wrote sentences like “after Fidesz took power in 2010, it used its parliamentary supermajority to redraw constituency boundaries in its favour.” Below, they say that “opposition parties are disadvantaged by the politicised distortion of the advertising market, notably including the market for the country’s many billboards.”

In the case of civil liberties, the ranking is much better: 43 points out of 60. However, the paper writes, in this regard, for example, that “the constitution protects freedom of the press, but Fidesz has undermined this guarantee through legislation that has politicised media regulation.” Furthermore, it shows how pro-government figures managed to acquire a large part of the Hungarian media market. There were only a few categories in which Hungary received the maximum number of points. These were freedom of movement, freedom for trade unions and similar professional or labour organisations, and freedom of assembly.

Interestingly, Hungary’s ranking is just a bit better than India’s and Ecuador’s, and the country could not even precede Senegal or Peru.

Source: freedomhouse.org