Stipulations of the law which required a two-thirds majority had failed in Wednesday’s vote. In his letter to parliament, Áder said the law did not establish a legal norm while it contained passages which were either controversial or could not be interpreted or implemented. He called on parliament to re-consider it in its entirety.

“Hungary is an independent and democratic state governed by the rule of law and a fundamental requirement is legal certainty,” Áder said, adding that legal texts should be clear and reasonable, expressing “recognisable” norms for legal application.

Parliamentary Speaker László Kövér told commercial Inforádió later in the day that the ruling parties would not give up on their original proposal and make efforts to secure a two-thirds support for the bill.

Kövér said that the legislation, stripped of its crucial parts, has become “a meaningless heap of letters”, adding that “all the president could obviously do” was to send it back. In defence of the original proposal, Kövér said its restrictions were aimed at shortening political campaign periods as well as preventing parties from becoming indebted to various business circles.

Kövér also said that parliament could be convened for an extraordinary session during the summer to discuss the billboard legislation.

The parliamentary group leader of ruling Fidesz said that his party would initiate a special session of parliament so that a final decision could be made on the law. Lajos Kósa said it was understandable why the president had sent the law back to parliament for re-consideration, noting that stipulations of the law which required a two-thirds majority had failed and only the ones that required an absolute majority passed.

The latter stipulations were solely about “the law’s entry into force and the re-numbering of its sections”, Kósa said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.