2010 Hungarian presidential election
29 June 2010
 
Nominee Pál Schmitt András Balogh
Party Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union MSZP
Electoral vote 263 59
Results of all valid votes cast.
President before election

László Sólyom
Independent

 Elected President

Pál Schmitt
Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union

An indirect presidential election was held in Hungary on 29 June 2010.[1] The Prime Minister's nominee Pál Schmitt was elected by an absolute majority.

Background

Following the 2010 Hungarian parliamentary election, Fidesz came out with an overwhelming majority of seats. With a two-thirds majority requirement needed to elect the president, Fidesz was expected to win since it already had the necessary numbers.

Candidates

Nominations were due by midday of 25 June 2010; the Hungarian Socialist Party nominated university lecturer and Hungarian ambassador to Thailand András Balogh on 6 June 2010.[2][3] Fidesz nominated speaker of parliament Pál Schmitt on 23 June 2010. Jobbik intended to nominate Krisztina Morvai,[4] and Politics Can Be Different wished to nominate incumbent President László Sólyom, but neither had enough MPs to respectively do so.[5][6]

Once elected, the new president would take office on 5 August 2010.[7]

Most Hungarians said they didn't think the President should be a member of any party. Forty-eight percent of respondents said that the president's independence from the government is among the most important considerations for the office, though 46 percent said it is also important that the president be able to work well with the prime minister.

However, polling suggested that should the election be a popular one, Schmitt would get 32 percent of the vote, outgoing President László Sólyom would get 24 percent, Socialist Party nominee András Balogh would get 14 percent and Jobbik's Krisztina Morvai would get 6 percent. Twenty-four percent said they would not vote for any of the candidates or declined to answer the question.[8]

Results

Hungarian Presidential elections, 2010[9]
Candidate Nominating Party Votes  %
Pál Schmitt Fidesz 263 68.1
András Balogh Hungarian Socialist Party 59 15.3
Did not vote[note 1] 20 5.2
Invalid votes[note 2] 44 11.4
Total votes 366 94.8
Total seats 386 100.00
  1. ↑ 20 MPs opted for not registering and did not pick up their ballots
  2. ↑ 44 empty ballots cast with neither candidate supported

Reactions

Several Fidesz MP's expressed concern over the electoral outcome saying that though Schmitt was "a charmer and very capable person," they didn't feel he was right for the job because any mistake he may make would reflect poorly on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had selected him.[10]

The President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek welcomed the election of Schmitt.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Hungarian ruling party proposes parliament elect president on June 29 - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  2. ↑ "Hungary's parliament to elect president on June 29 - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  3. ↑ MTI (2010-06-07). "Socialists hold congress, picks nominee for state president". Politics.hu. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  4. ↑ Around, Hungary (2009-12-18). "Jobbik names Vona as PM candidate, Morvai for state president". Politics.hu. Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  5. ↑ "The Budapest Times - Hungary's leading English Language source for daily news". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). 2010-06-15.
  6. ↑ Around, Hungary (2010-06-28). "Greens fail in drive to re-nominate state president". Politics.hu. Archived from the original on 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  7. ↑ "Hungarian PM names party-mate as presidential choice - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  8. ↑ MTI (2010-06-28). "Fidesz nominee for president tops poll". Politics.hu. Archived from the original on 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  9. ↑ MTI (2010-06-30). "Pal Schmitt elected new president of Hungary". Politics.hu. Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  10. ↑ http://www.politics.hu/20100630/fidesz-mps-express-concerns-over-schmitts-election-as-president Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine >> Fidesz MPs express concerns over Schmitt's election as president
  11. ↑ "Jerzy Buzek - Buzek on the election of the new Hungarian President Pál Schmitt". Europarl.europa.eu. 2010-06-29. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
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