Politics of Hungary

The president of the republic, elected by the National Assembly every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, but he is nominally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and his powers include the nomination of the prime minister, who is to be elected by a majority of the votes of the members of Parliament, based on the recommendation made by the president of the republic. If the president dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties, the speaker of the National Assembly becomes acting president. Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-World War II Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the prime minister has a leading role in the executive branch as he selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them (similarly to the competences of the German federal chancellor). Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings, survive a vote by the Parliament and must be formally approved by the president. The laws were once decided by the Diet of Hungary but are now decided by the National Assembly. In Communist Hungary, the executive branch of the government was represented by the Council of Ministers. ==Legislative branch==

The unicameral, 199-member National Assembly (Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. Its members are elected for a four-year term. The election threshold is 5%, but it only applies to the multi-seat constituencies and the compensation seats, not the single-seat constituencies. ==Political parties and elections==

In the 2022 Hungarian election there were two main coalitions as well as some minor parties who had the ability to put together a party list. The two largest were the right-wing FIDESZ-KDNP coalition, and the big tent (mostly from center-right to left-wing) United for Hungary a coalition which consists of the following parties: DK, MSZP, Jobbik, Dialogue-The Greens' Party, LMP - Hungary's Green Party, and Momentum. There were also associate parties and movements such as ÚVNP, Liberals, New Start, MMM, 99 movement. There minor parties mentioned above who were not part of these two coalitions are as folllows: the far-right Our Homeland Movement which also won seats during the 2022 elections, a joke party called Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party, Megoldás Mozgalom, a party which wants to digitalize, and a party called Normális Élet Pártja primarily an anti-vaccine party. Another larger coalition was the so-called Leftist Alliance, comprising the socilaist ISZOMM (Igen Szolidaitás Mozgalom) and the communist Munkáspárt, and although they were unable to create a party list due to lacking enough signatures, however they still ran in 66 constituencies according to the electoral commission of Hungary ==Judicial branches==

A fifteen-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body was last filled in July 2010. Members are elected for a term of twelve years. Critics of the ruling coalition contend that since the Hungarian government filled the Constitutional Court with loyal judges, the institution mostly serves to legitimize government interests and has lost its original purpose as democratic defender of the rule of law and of human rights - as several reports of independent human rights NGOs, such as the Hungarian Helsinki Committee emphasize. The president of the Supreme Court of Hungary (Curia) and the Hungarian civil and penal legal system he leads is fully independent of the Executive Branch. The attorney general or chief prosecutor of Hungary is currently fully independent of the executive branch, but his status is actively debated. Several ombudsman offices exist in Hungary to protect civil, minority, educational and ecological rights in non-judicial matters. They have held the authority to issue legally binding decisions since late 2003. ==Financial branch==

The central bank, the Hungarian National Bank was fully self-governing between 1990 and 2004, but new legislation gave certain appointment rights to the executive branch in November 2004 which is disputed before the Constitutional Court. ==Administrative divisions==

Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular – megye), 23 urban counties* (megyei jogú városok, singular – megyei jogú város), and 1 capital city** (főváros): Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Békéscsaba*, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Budapest**, Csongrád, Debrecen*, Dunaújváros*, Eger*, Érd*, Fejér, Győr*, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Hódmezővásárhely*, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komárom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nógrád, Nyíregyháza*, Pécs*, Pest, Salgótarján*, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekszárd*, Székesfehérvár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabánya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Veszprém*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg* ==Involvement in international organisations==

Hungary is a member of the ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, CEPI EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UN Tourism, UNU, UPU, Visegrád Group, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, and Zangger Committee. ==Ministries==

Note: with restructuring and reorganisation, this information may change even within a governmental period. Ministers without portfolio • Ministers without portfolio: János Süli, Andrea Bártfai-Mager, Katalin Novák ==Notes==