Opinion: Hungary’s democratic Rubik’s Cube | EU.Observer
“[The Sovereignty Law] has enforced a culture of fear within civil society and the media, diverted already limited resources and attention, stifled cooperation and imposed a level of self-censorship.” Elliott Goat and Zsofia Banuta, EU.Observer As Hungary takes over the EU’s rotating presidency, EPDE member Unhack Democracy took a look at how Hungarian civil society […]
European Parliament Elections: Hungarian Citizen Election Report
As Hungary takes over the EU’s rotating presidency, most prominent Hungarian election-related organisations: Unhack Democracy, 20k, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Mérték Media Monitor and Political Capital took a look at how Hungarian civil society has been facing up to Orban’s electoral autocracy in light of the recent EP/local elections. “The Sovereignty […]
Unhack Democracy
Unhack Democracy is a pro-democracy NGO and election watchdog that works to support electoral integrity in Europe. It was founded in 2018 following the Hungarian parliamentary elections, special area of focus is therefore also on Hungary. Comprised of a diverse team of data analysts, political scientists, journalists, artists and academics, it aims to empower citizens […]
Not free or fair? Rethinking election observation in the EU – Unhack Democracy Conference ’22
(The full conference livestream is available here) Summary of conclusions and recommendations Over the course of two days representatives of pro-democracy groups from over 20 countries across central and eastern Europe, the Black Sea region, Balkans, Belarus and Russia joined activists, journalists, academics, politicians, diplomats and policy makers to discuss the most pressing problems […]
European Union must support Hungarian civil society to strengthen democratic institutions and fair elections
The parliamentary elections in Hungary once again showed that democratic institutions in the country are at risk. International observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), as well as the NGO-observers from the European Network of Election Observation Organizations (ENEMO) attested the lack […]
Government-Friendly Election Observers at the 2022 Hungarian Parliamentary Elections
Image description 1st from left: Jerzy Kwasniewski, President and co-founder of Ordo Iuris Institute (photo: https://en.ordoiuris.pl/attorney-jerzy-kwasniewski); 2nd from left: Harald Vilimsky, Member of the European Parliament, I&D Group, FPÖ Austria (photo: https://kurier.at/politik/inland/fpoe-als-wahlbeobachter-in-ungarn/401955484); 3rd from left: Branko Grims, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenian Democratic Party (photo: https://demokracija.eu/focus/video-branko-grims-tells-the-european-parliament-we-need-a-strong-europe-a-europe-of-values/). In anticipation of […]
Government-Friendly Election Observers at the 2022 Hungarian Parliamentary Elections
For the first time in the history of any EU Member State, Orbán’s government invited dozens of friendly politicians, journalists and civil society activists whose aim was to endorse the elections. Those friendly observers – among them members of the European Parliament and of the PACE of the Council of Europe – praised the conduct […]
Parliamentary elections in Hungary – prospects for political change?
On 3 April, Hungary will hold its highly anticipated parliamentary elections as well as a national referendum on “child-protection measures” which is widely seen as being used to promote the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ narrative. The elections are being held while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues across the border and an influx of refugees flee to […]
A tilted playing field favors the government in Hungary’s April 3 parliamentary elections
Zsuzsanna Végh Parliamentary elections are taking place in Hungary on April 3 and will be decided among two political blocks in an unprecedentedly polarized environment. Following irregularities observed in previous elections in 2014 and 2018 resulting in “free but not fair” elections, OSCE ODIHR has requested and successfully fielded a full-scale election observation mission to […]
A tilted playing field favors the government in Hungary’s April 3 parliamentary elections
Parliamentary elections are taking place in Hungary on April 3 and will be decided among two political blocks in an unprecedentedly polarized environment. Several concerns raised regarding the elections relate to the legal environment, while others to the uneven playing field, especially regarding the media landscape and campaign financing, which all tilt the playing field […]