MEPs call for full-scale election observation in Hungary

A cross-party group of 62 members of the European Parliament has taken the unusual step of calling on a major election observer to send a full-scale mission to monitor Hungary’s upcoming election. 

Hungarians will go to the polls on April 3, but critics of incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have raised concerns that the election may not be free and fair. 

“We come from 5 political groups and from 19 different countries. But we all share the concern that the elections might not be held to the highest democratic standards,” the MEPs wrote in a letter — seen by POLITICO — sent to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections in participating countries as part of its work promoting democratic values.

The move reflects deepening concerns over democratic backsliding in Hungary and the legitimacy of its institutions. It also comes at a time when many members of the European Parliament are pushing for cuts to the country’s EU funding over rule-of-law violations.

The OSCE runs several types of electoral missions. In some countries — where the organization does not expect serious problems — it only deploys a limited mission, which does not conduct systemic and comprehensive observations on election day. In countries where there are concerns, the OSCE has the option of sending a full-scale mission, which delves into all aspects of the electoral process, from the campaign to the vote counting. 

In their letter, the MEPs pointed to the experience of the 2018 Hungarian election, when a limited OSCE mission concluded that “intimidating campaign rhetoric limited space for substantive debate and diminished voters’ ability to make an informed choice.” It also found that government information campaigns had “significantly compromised” the contestants’ ability to compete fairly.

Now, according to the parliamentarians, there are even more concerns. 

“In the run up to this year’s elections, we observed further seriously worrying developments,” they wrote. The MEPs cited electoral legislation amendments adopted without consultation under state of emergency rules during the pandemic, as well as legal changes seen as favoring incumbents and easing the possibility of registering fictitious addresses. 

Signatories of the letter, which was led by the German Green MEP Daniel Freund, included figures such as German Social Democrat Katarina Barley and Finnish center-right politician Petri Sarvamaa. 

The MEPs’ call comes days after a group of 20 Hungarian civil society groups also turned to the OSCE with a request for a full-scale monitoring mission. 

“Changes to electoral and other laws since 2018 have further undermined the fairness of electoral processes, and significantly increase the risk of — mostly election-day — manipulation both in and outside the polling stations,” the groups wrote, pointing to concerns ranging from “gerrymandered voting districts” to “voter-tourism” and “the combined effects of a politically controlled media regulatory authority and distortionary state intervention in the media market.”

Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács has rejected concerns that the election could be rigged. 

“Prime Minister Orbán and the ruling alliance are running on a long list of achievements in office,” Kovács wrote in a recent Euronews opinion piece. “Voters will reelect him, I predict, because he has taken the country forward and delivered real results for Hungarians,” he added. “Dark warnings about a contested election result and a rigged election are merely advocacy journalism at work.” 

The Hungarian government did not respond to a request for comment.