Politics of Hungary

The politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The prime minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the president is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position. The country is "no longer a full democracy" according to the EU.

Politics of Hungary Magyarország politikája
Coat of arms of Hungary
Polity type	Unitary parliamentary republic Hybrid regime
Constitution	Constitution of Hungary (2011)
Formation	23 October 1989 (Third Hungarian Republic) 1 January 2012 (current constitution entered into force)
Legislative branch
Name	National Assembly
Type	Unicameral
Meeting place	Hungarian Parliament Building
Presiding officer	László Kövér, President of the National Assembly of Hungary
Appointer	Partially parallel, partially compensatory voting: 106 FPTP seats, 93 PR seats with 5% electoral threshold (D'Hondt method)
Executive branch
Head of State
Title	President
Currently	Tamás Sulyok
Appointer	National Assembly
Head of Government
Title	Prime Minister
Currently	Viktor Orbán
Appointer	National Assembly
Cabinet
Name	Government of Hungary
Current cabinet	Fifth Orbán Government
Leader	Prime Minister
Deputy leader	Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister
Appointer	National Assembly
Headquarters	Carmelite Monastery of Buda
Ministries	15
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court of Hungary
Chief judge	Barnabás Lenkovics
Seat	1015 Budapest, Donáti utca, 35-45.
Curia of Hungary
Chief judge	András Baka
Seat	1055 Budapest, Markó utca 16.

Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The party system since the last elections has been dominated by the conservative Fidesz. The three larger oppositions are Democratic Coalition (DK), Momentum and Jobbik; there are also opposition parties with a small fraction in parliament (e.g. Politics Can Be Different). The judiciary is theoretically independent of the executive and the legislature, but in practice is strongly influenced by the ruling Fidesz Party.^[1]

Hungary is an independent state, which has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Since 1989 Hungary has been a parliamentary republic. Legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly that consists of 199 members. Members of the National Assembly are elected for four years.

The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Hungary a "flawed democracy" in 2023, ranking 50th globally, the fourth-lowest in the EU.^[2] Freedom House no longer considers Hungary a full democracy, awarding a score of 66/100.^[3]

In the April 2022 election, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán won a fourth consecutive term in office. His party, Fidesz, secured another two-thirds majority in parliament.^[4]

Executive branch

Main office-holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
President	Tamás Sulyok	Independent	5 March 2024
Prime Minister	Viktor Orbán	Fidesz	29 May 2010

The president of the republic, elected by the National Assembly every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, but they are nominally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and their powers include the nomination of the prime minister, who is to be elected by a majority of the votes of the members of Parliament, based on the recommendation made by the president of the republic. If the president dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties, the speaker of the National Assembly becomes acting president.

Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-World War II Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the prime minister has a leading role in the executive branch as he selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them (similarly to the competences of the German federal chancellor). Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings, survive a vote by the Parliament and must be formally approved by the president.

The laws are decided by the Diet of Hungary and later by the National Assembly.

In Communist Hungary, the executive branch of the Hungarian People's Republic was represented by the Council of Ministers.

Legislative branch

Main office-holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
Speaker of the National Assembly	László Kövér	Fidesz	6 August 2010

Main article: Elections in Hungary

 

Parliament of Hungary.

The unicameral, 199-member National Assembly (Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. Its members are elected for a four-year term. The election threshold is 5%, but it only applies to the multi-seat constituencies and the compensation seats, not the single-seat constituencies.

Political parties and elections

For other political parties, see List of political parties in Hungary. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Hungary.

Turnout (within Hungary only, excluding eligible voters abroad)^[5]

7:00	9:00	11:00	13:00	15:00	17:00	18:30	Overall
1.82%	10.31%	25.77%	40.01%	52.75%	62.92%	67.80%	70.21%

Party		Party-list			Constituency			Total seats	+/–
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Fidesz–KDNP	3,060,706	54.13	48	2,823,419	52.80	87	135	+2
	United for Hungary	1,947,331	34.44	38	1,983,708	37.09	19	57	–8
	Our Homeland Movement	332,487	5.88	6	307,064	5.74	0	6	New
	Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party	185,052	3.27	0	126,648	2.37	0	0	0
	Solution Movement	58,929	1.04	0	64,341	1.20	0	0	New
	Party of Normal Life	39,720	0.70	0	31,495	0.59	0	0	New
	National Self-Government of Germans	24,630	0.44	1				1	0
	National Self-Government of Croats	1,760	0.03	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Slovaks	1,208	0.02	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Rusyns	645	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Romanians	526	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Serbs	418	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Ukrainians	396	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Poles	281	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Greeks	232	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Slovenes	219	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Armenians	163	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Bulgarians	157	0.00	0				0	0
	Leftist Alliance				8,678	0.16	0	0	New
	True Democratic Party				989	0.02	0	0	New
	Civic Response				521	0.01	0	0	New
	Our Party – IMA				326	0.01	0	0	New
	Party of Greens				208	0.00	0	0	New
	Democratic Organisation of the Hungarian Poor and Workers				177	0.00	0	0	New
	Hungarian Liberal Party				152	0.00	0	0	0
Total		5,654,860	100.00	93	5,347,726	100.00	106	199	0
Valid votes		5,654,860	99.00
Invalid/blank votes		57,065	1.00
Total votes		5,711,925	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		8,215,304	69.53
Source: National Electoral Commission,^[5] National Electoral Commission

Result by constituency

See also: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election results by constituency

Party list results by county and in the diaspora

County^[6]	Fidesz-KDNP	United for Hungary	Our Homeland	MKKP	MM	NÉP	Minority lists
Bács-Kiskun	57.25	29.66	7.58	3.08	1.01	0.81
Baranya	49.67	36.08	5.93	3.54	0.93	0.86
Békés	52.81	34.36	7.64	2.62	0.92	0.89
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén	54.38	34.29	6.89	2.31	0.99	0.78
Budapest	40.84	47.84	4.11	5.19	1.26	0.53
Csongrád-Csanád	47.44	39.69	7.34	3.61	1.10	0.72
Fejér	53.55	33.80	6.62	3.52	1.15	0.76
Győr-Moson-Sopron	57.07	30.83	6.21	3.28	1.33	0.72
Hajdú-Bihar	57.88	30.87	6.60	2.69	1.02	0.83
Heves	54.98	33.37	7.31	2.50	0.97	0.74
Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok	55.58	33.02	7.15	2.45	0.95	0.82
Komárom-Esztergom	50.53	36.32	6.72	3.39	1.11	0.95
Nógrád	59.00	29.27	7.66	2.15	0.80	0.68
Pest	50.88	36.44	5.81	4.05	1.25	0.66
Somogy	56.33	33.48	5.97	2.22	1.02	0.66
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg	61.66	29.04	5.59	1.64	0.91	0.80
Tolna	58.95	28.49	6.67	2.46	0.90	0.81
Vas	59.94	29.55	5.59	2.89	0.89	0.72
Veszprém	52.57	34.44	6.88	3.39	1.00	0.76
Zala	56.72	31.98	6.63	2.68	0.95	0.94
Total in Hungary	52.45	36.15	6.15	3.42	1.10	0.73
Diaspora	93.89	4.12	1.06	0.61	0.10	0.22
Total	54.13	34.44	5.88	3.27	1.04	0.70

There are basically two main factions in the Hungarian political system, the right-wing FIDESZ-KDNP coalition, and the center-right to left-wing United for Hungary which consists of the following parties: DK, MSZP, Jobbik, Dialogue, LMP-Greens, Momentum. There are also associate parties and movements such as ÚVNP, Liberals, New Start, MMM movement, 99M movement. There are also some minor parties which are not part of these two coalitions such as the far-right Our Homeland Movement, and the joke party called Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party.

Judicial branches

 

Constitutional Court of Hungary.

A fifteen-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body was last filled in July 2010. Members are elected for a term of twelve years. Critics of the ruling coalition contend that since the Hungarian government filled the Constitutional Court with loyal judges, the institution mostly serves to legitimize government interests and has lost its original purpose as democratic defender of the rule of law and of human rights - as several reports of independent human rights NGOs, such as the Hungarian Helsinki Committee emphasize.^[7]

The president of the Supreme Court of Hungary (Curia) and the Hungarian civil and penal legal system he leads is fully independent of the Executive Branch.

The attorney general or chief prosecutor of Hungary is currently fully independent of the executive branch, but his status is actively debated.

Several ombudsman offices exist in Hungary to protect civil, minority, educational and ecological rights in non-judicial matters. They have held the authority to issue legally binding decisions since late 2003.

Financial branch

The central bank, the Hungarian National Bank was fully self-governing between 1990 and 2004, but new legislation gave certain appointment rights to the executive branch in November 2004 which is disputed before the Constitutional Court.

Administrative divisions

Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular – megye), 23 urban counties* (megyei jogú városok, singular – megyei jogú város), and 1 capital city** (főváros); Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Békéscsaba*, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Budapest**, Csongrád, Debrecen*, Dunaújváros*, Eger*, Érd*, Fejér, Győr*, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Hódmezővásárhely*, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komárom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nógrád, Nyíregyháza*, Pécs*, Pest, Salgótarján*, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekszárd*, Székesfehérvár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabánya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Veszprém*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*

Involvement in international organisations

Hungary is a member of the ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, CEPI EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by 1 May 2004), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, Visegrád Group, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, and the Zangger Committee.

Ministries

Note: with restructuring and reorganisation, this information may change even within a governmental period.

Ministries of Hungary^[8]

English name	Hungarian name	Minister
The Prime Minister's Office	Miniszterelnökség	Gergely Gulyás
The Prime Minister's Cabinet Office	A Miniszterelnöki Kabinetiroda	Antal Rogán
Ministry of Home Affairs	Belügyminisztérium	Sándor Pintér
Ministry of Defence	Honvédelmi Minisztérium	Tibor Benkő
Ministry of Human Resources	Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma	Miklós Kásler
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Külgazdasági és Külügyminisztérium	Péter Szijjártó
Ministry of Justice	Igazságügyi Minisztérium	Judit Varga
Ministry of Finance	Pénzügyminisztérium	Mihály Varga
Ministry of Agriculture	Agrárminisztérium	István Nagy
Ministry of Innovation and Technology	Innovációs és Technológiai Minisztérium	László Palkovics

Ministers without portfolio

• Ministers without portfolio: János Süli, Andrea Bártfai-Mager, Katalin Novák

Notes

References

1. "Hungary: Status of the Hungarian Judiciary – Legal Changes have to Guarantee the Independence of Judiciary in Hungary".
2. "Democracy Index 2023". Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
3. "Freedom in the World 2023". FreedomHouse.org. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
4. Dougall, David Mac; Palfi, Rita (3 April 2022). "Key Takeaways as Viktor Orbán Wins Fourth Consecutive Term". Euronews. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
5. "Nemzeti Választási Iroda - Országgyűlési Választás 2022" [National Electoral Commission - Election of National Assembly Representatives 2022] (in Hungarian). 16 April 2022. from the original on 22 April 2022.
6. "Országgyűlési képviselők választása 2022 - országos listás szavazás eredménye". valasztas.hu.
7. "Hungary's Government Has Taken Control of the Constitutional Court". 25 March 2015.
8. . The Hungarian Prime Minister's Office. Archived from the original on 5 February 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2010.