According to Hungarian government website kormany.hu, non-Hungarians can vote in municipal elections providing they have established permanent residence and are at least 18 years of age. The district notary and the county prefecture (árási hivatal) say there is nothing to be done following the disclosure. Népszabadság reports than an investigation has been initiated against the immigration authority.

The left-wing daily says 391 foreigners gave Nagykőrösi út 353 as their permanent place of residence last year. This number increased by 334 the first half of 2014. Since the middle of summer 711 Romania, 89 Slovak and 75 Hungarian citizens have registered the 40-bed pension within the Nagybani outdoor market as their place of residence. Another 171 Romanian citizens with Hungarian passports have registered the pension’s address as their Hungary place of occupancy. All of the individuals in question are between the ages of 18 and 60, that is of legal voting age, reports Népszabadság.

The growth in the district’s population was brought to the attention of the local election committee in the run-up to the April 6 national election. At that time the district notary told Népszabadság that the matter was discussed with the county prefecture and they concluded there were no legal obstacles to how many individuals could register at a given address.

It is unlawful to register a permanent address where one does not actually live. For this reason the local election committee erred by failing to check whether the foreigners in question actually resided at the address in question.

Reportedly a member of the committee brought this matter to the committee’s attention before April’s general election but the committee failed to act on it. Népszabadság writes that the Together for Soroksár Association delegate to the committee, Dezső Fenyvesi, petitioned the district notary’s office on Friday to take the necessary legal steps if it experiences an unlawful situation.

Source: The Budapest Beacon

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