Hungary to hold next parliamentary election under emergency rule
Hungary has extended the nation's years-long state of emergency, ensuring that the upcoming elections will take place under the special legal regime that has granted Prime Minister Viktor Orban broad powers to enforce his rule.
Parliament voted on Tuesday to extend emergency rule by 180 days until 14 May, Orban has said he expects the next election to take place at the earliest possibly date in April, with the country’s president expected to announce a date early next year, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Orban’s Fidesz is trailing the opposition Tisza party led by former regime insider Peter Magyar. Tisza maintains a double-digit lead over the ruling party in some polls, as a cost-of-living crisis and allegations of widespread corruption dent the nationalist premier’s political allure.
Under emergency rule, the government can suspend fundamental rights, including the right to protest. Officials have maintained that the arrangement will have no bearing on the ballot.
Last year, Hungary held municipal and European Parliament elections under emergency rule, where Tisza stunned the ruling party by coming second, including in key ruling party strongholds.
Orban has governed under a state of emergency since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020, allowing him to rule by decree despite a pliant parliament where his lawmakers have held a two-thirds majority for most of the past 15 years.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government cited the war in Hungary’s eastern neighbor as the reason to maintain decree rule.
The European Union has suspended billions of euros in funding earmarked for Hungary, citing the erosion of the rule of law and graft in the member state.
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