About 137,000 non-Hungarian EU citizens residing in Hungary, as well as 35,000 refugees and long-term residents, can vote in the municipal election on June 9, and they do not need to register.
In the European Parliament (EP) elections, EU citizens living in Hungary can decide to vote for Hungarian EP lists instead of their home country. However, for this they have to register themselves, 3,600 people have done this so far.
However, in local government elections, EU citizens with a residential address in Hungary are automatically entitled to both active and passive voting rights: they can participate in voting and run as candidates, so unlike the EP elections, they do not need to be registered in order to exercise their right to vote.
However, EU citizens with a residential address in Hungary can only participate in the elections of local government representatives and mayors on June 9, but not in the election of national government representatives.
In the election of municipal representatives and mayors, not only Hungarian and EU citizens of legal age residing in Hungary can vote, but those recognized as refugees and all adults with long-term residence rights also have the right to participate in the election, but they cannot run as candidates.
Thus, in addition to the 7.69 million Hungarian citizens with Hungarian addresses, more than 35,000 foreigners recognized as refugees or with long-term residence permits, as well as 137,000 citizens of other EU member states with Hungarian addresses, can vote in the municipal elections.
Tags: foreigners vote municipal election
