Jobbik calls for direct election of president

Budapest, April 26 (MTI) – The opposition Jobbik party has proposed electing Hungary’s president by a direct vote and has invited the other four parliamentary parties to discuss the idea.

Gábor Staudt, the party’s deputy group leader, told a press conference on Tuesday that allowing voters to have a say in the president’s election would strengthen the office’s legitimacy.

Hungary’s president is currently elected by parliament in a secret ballot.

Staudt said that under the current laws, a simple majority is enough to elect a candidate president. The ruling Fidesz party’s nominee, and therefore the eventual winner, is decided solely by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán without the party’s MPs having a fair say in the nomination.

Staudt criticised the system for not giving the opposition a bigger say in the president’s election.

He said the five-party talks should be used to lay down the technical rules of a direct presidential election, such as the number of rounds it would consist of, the validity threshold or rules on who could be nominated.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters