Hungary Election countdown: An Update on 1990 Parliamentary Elections

SCOPE

Since the original assessment of Hungarian electoral law was produced in late 1989, return trips to Hungary have provided opportunities to chart substantial shifting in the political situation there. As elections for Parliament approach on March 25, events have continued to develop quickly, and in relative terms to the rest of the region, Hungary's electoral situation remains at a fairly sophisticated level.

In February 1990, I returned to Hungary to speak at a two-day colloqium on election law open to all political parties and featuring Democratic and Republican election experts, Hungary's National Electoral Commission Chairman, and its Director of the Elections Office of the Interior Ministry. Additional briefings with political party representatives and candidates also were held.

In March 1990, consultants Maxene Fernstrom and Rich Galen returned to Hungary to oversee production of public service announcements by the National Electoral Commission which explain the vote procedure and urging voter turnout, as well as to meet with political party representatives and candidates.

Both trips were sponsored by the National Republican Institute for International Affairs.

Information included in this report was obtained chiefly from these two trips.