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Anti-electoral fraud hotline.

Socialists shred election documents in protest ahead of Hungary’s referendum

Politicians and supporters of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) protested outside the National Election Office in Budapest on Saturday, less than 24 hours before the country’s national referendum on “migrant quotas,” which the left-centre opposition is boycotting. Gyula Molnár, MSZP’s party president, was joined by Gergely Karácsony, the popular district mayor of the small Dialogue for Hungary (Párbeszéd Magyarországért) leftist […]

by · October 1, 2016 · Politics
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a helicopter, inspecting the border between Hungary and Serbia from above. Photo: Facebook.

Viktor Orbán: Without Hungary, Europe would have already fallen

Hungary’s largest free circulation print daily, Lokál, published an interview with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, three days before the government’s anti-migrant referendum. Lokál is published by the Modern Media Group, a firm co-owned by the prime minister’s personal adviser, Árpád Habony. Earlier this year, without issuing any tender, the Centre for Budapest Transport (BKK) signed an agreement with the Modern […]

by · September 30, 2016 · Politics
An example of a spoiled ballot provided by the satirical Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party.

National Election Office: 18 percent of mail-in ballots spoiled in Hungarian referendum

Hungary’s National Election Office has processed 32,254 mail-in ballots for the Sunday  referendum against EU-wide “migrant quotas” and has deemed that 18% of them (5,708) were spoiled by voters. Hungarians living abroad and holding dual citizenship are eligible to vote by mail-in ballot, but thus far only 28% of the 274,573 registered voters have chosen to participate in the October 2nd […]

by · September 29, 2016 · Politics
Viktor Orbán inspecting the border fence between Hungary and Serbia. Photo: Facebook.

New poll spells trouble for Orbán ahead of Hungary’s referendum

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s national referendum against so-called EU-wide “migrant quotas”, scheduled for October 2nd, will likely be invalid, with fewer than 50% of eligible voters casting ballots. The Medián polling firm–perhaps the most reputable pollster in Hungary–was commissioned by the hvg.hu news site to conduct a poll less than a week before the national referendum. Only 42% of respondents […]

by · September 28, 2016 · Politics
A sea of Szekler (székely) flags at a protest.

In defence of Transylvania’s Szekler flag – A letter to the editor from the American Hungarian Federation

Mr. György Lázár: Normally we at the American Hungarian Federation would not respond to the kind of posting you made on September 22, “Exploiting the naiveté of Hans Klemm, the US ambassador to Romania,” but we are making an exception in this case since you have gratuitously defamed not only an outstanding career American diplomat but our organization as well. The tactics […]

by · September 28, 2016 · East
Simon Wiesenthal Center

Wiesenthal Center blasts fabricated report of meeting with senior Hungarian officials

Officials of the Hungarian government appear to be in the habit of misrepresenting statements made by foreign partners or entities during visits and discussions. Earlier this month, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) was forced to clarify its position on antisemitism in Hungary, after the organization’s views were misrepresented by the Hungarian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. And last year, […]

by · September 27, 2016 · Antisemitism
Budapest explosion takes a strange turn

Budapest explosion takes a strange turn

The narrative surrounding the explosion that seriously injured two police officers in Central Budapest on Saturday night, exactly one week before the country’s anti-migrant referendum, is beginning to take a rather strange turn. It was odd enough that Hungarian authorities said nothing formally about the attack and no press conference was held until 20 hours after the incident, leaving the […]

by · September 26, 2016 · Focus
Hungary's national police chief, Károly Papp, speaks to reporters at a news conference Sunday evening, following the Saturday night explosion in Budapest. Photo: Screen shot from M1 live broadcast.

Attacker targeted Budapest police in bombing — Manhunt underway in Hungarian capital

There is “no doubt” in the mind of Hungary’s national police chief, Károly Papp, that police officers were the explicit targets of the explosion that occurred Saturday night just after 10:30 PM and which severely injured two officers on patrol near the corner of Teréz Körút and Király utca. Police Chief Papp held a news conference in Budapest early Sunday […]

by · September 25, 2016 · Focus
Teréz Körút closed off on Sunday morning, with investigators looking for clues following the explosion Saturday night. Photo: Péter Lakatos/MTI.

Mysterious explosion in Budapest seriously injures two

A bomb went off late Saturday night in central Budapest, seriously injuring two police officers. Preliminary information suggests that an explosive device was detonated in a store located on Teréz Körút and the nails found in the area indicate that it may have been a nail bomb. The two officers were patrolling the area when the bomb went off, shortly […]

by · September 25, 2016 · Focus
The Hungarian government referendum billboard reads: Let's send a message to Brussels, so that they will understand." Photo: Nyugat.hu

Hungary is free to follow the British road and leave the European Union

Hungarians need to comprehend that their country cannot simply enjoy the financial and economic benefits of membership in the European Union–they must be willing to participate in joint projects and show solidarity in times of crisis, as the EU is not an a la carte menu–writes Remi Piet, assistant professor of public policy and international political economy at Qatar University. Yet the […]

by · September 24, 2016 · Politics