(Hungarian Europe Society) For the initiative of the Hungarian Europe Society, civil society organisations appealed to Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to extend the engagement of the electoral observation mission regarding the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary.
The letter states:
<<we are deeply concerned that the Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 8, 2018 are not going to fulfil the relevant international democratic standards. It is our deep conviction that in a country where several dimensions of liberal democracy are compromised the quality of the electoral dimension of democracy must enjoy a very special attention. In this particularly worrisome context, a robust engagement of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights could, in itself, equally enhance the fairness of the elections and public confidence in the electoral process.>>
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.@osce_odihr #Hungary election monitoring mission: "a pervasive overlap between state and ruling party resources … intimidating and xenophobic rhetoric, media bias and opaque campaign financing constricted the space for genuine political debate" https://t.co/SIOmSO7yab pic.twitter.com/uEEljk8WpT
— HunHelsinkiCommittee (@hhc_helsinki) April 9, 2018
In the aftermath of the elections, the OSCE observation mission released a report highlighting that <<Fundamental rights and freedoms were respected overall, but exercised in an adverse climate. Access to information as well as the freedoms of the media and association have been restricted, including by recent legal changes. While the electoral legal framework forms an adequate basis for democratic elections, recent amendments were a missed opportunity to hold inclusive consultations and address prior ODIHR recommendations.>>
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