Hungary: Hungary Proposes Single-Round Election | Wall Street Journal

Over the weekend, Hungary’s governing party Fidesz proposed a mixed, single-round parliamentary election system instead of the current two-round one, immediately attracting huge public outcry.

The governing party, which has a sweeping majority in parliament, is in the process of revamping the country’s public sector. This spans from changes in the administration to cutting red tape to simplifying the election system. Part of the latter effort is a plan to eventually decrease the number of parliament members to 200 from the current 386.

Hungary: Fidesz may cut number of lawmakers and introduce single-round elections | bbj.hu

Hungary’s governing party plans to cut the number of lawmakers from 386 to 200, abolish the second round of voting and end the system of compensating for votes cast for runner-up candidates.

Fidesz proposes introducing a single-round election system featuring both individual candidates and party lists, MEP János Áder said on Saturday. Áder, whom Fidesz asked to coordinate the drafting of the new election law to be approved this year, told reporters about plans to field half the number of lawmakers from individual constituencies and the other half from national party lists.

Hungary: Mixed electoral system to remain in Hungary, number of individual constituencies, rounds undecided | Politics.hu

It is almost certain that a mixed electoral system will be maintained in Hungary, and the debate within the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance now only concerns the number of individual constituencies and the number of election rounds, Magyar Nemzet daily said on Wednesday.

Fidesz deputy leader Lajos Kosa confirmed to the paper that the governing coalition would submit a bill to parliament on a new election law in the autumn that stipulates a mixed electoral system – a blend of individual voting districts and national lists.

It has also been decided that Hungarian citizens living abroad will have the option to cast their ballots for a single national list representing Hungary as one constituency, Kosa said.