National Assembly (Hungary)

The National Assembly (Hungarian: Országgyűlés, lit. 'Country Assembly' [ˈorsaːɡɟyːleːʃ]) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to four-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proportional representation: a mixed-member majoritarian representation with partial compensation via transfer votes and mixed single vote; involving single-member districts and one list vote; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to gain list seats. The Assembly includes 25 standing committees to debate and report on introduced bills and to supervise the activities of the ministers. The Constitutional Court of Hungary has the right to challenge legislation on the grounds of constitutionality.

National Assembly Országgyűlés
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	László Kövér, Fidesz since 6 August 2010
First Officer	Márta Mátrai, Fidesz since 1 January 2013
Deputy Speakers	Csaba Hende, Fidesz (for legislation) Sándor Lezsák, Fidesz István Jakab, Fidesz János Latorcai, KDNP Lajos Oláh, DK Dóra Dúró, MHM
Leader of largest political group	Máté Kocsis, Fidesz since 8 May 2018
Leader of 2nd largest political group	István Simicskó, KDNP since 2 May 2022
Structure
Seats	199
Political groups	Government (135)   Fidesz–KDNP (135)   Fidesz (116)   KDNP (19) Supported by (1)   German minority (1) Opposition (63)   DK (15)   Momentum (10)[a]   MSZP (10)[a]   Jobbik (7)   MH (6)   Párbeszéd (6)[b]   Ind. (9)[c]
Elections
Voting system	Partially parallel, partially compensatory voting: 106 FPTP seats, 93 PR seats with 5% electoral threshold (D'Hondt method)
Last election	3 April 2022
Next election	April 2026
Meeting place
Hungarian Parliament Building Lajos Kossuth Square 1 Budapest, H-1055 Hungary
Website
parlament.hu/national-assembly

Autumn session – 2015

Under communist rule, the National Assembly existed as the supreme organ of state power as the sole branch of government in Hungary, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. Since 1902, the assembly has met in the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest.

The current members are the members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2022–2026).

History

The Diet of Hungary^[1] (Hungarian: Országgyűlés) was a legislative institution in the medieval kingdom of Hungary from the 1290s,^[2] and in its successor states, Royal Hungary and the Habsburg kingdom of Hungary throughout the Early Modern period. The name of the legislative body was originally "Parlamentum" during the Middle Ages, the "Diet" expression gained mostly in the Early Modern period.^[3] It convened at regular intervals with interruptions during the period of 1527 to 1918, and again until 1946.

In 1608, a bicameral legislature was enacted as the Royal Hungarian Diet, dividing the main board and the lower board (the board of envoys). Members of the main board (the upper house) were the high nobles and high priests (archbishops and bishops). The lower board was attended by representatives of the common nobility, clergy and civil order: elected representatives of the noble county, delegates of the free royal cities and representatives of the lower Church representatives.^[4]

Approximately 10% of the total voting age population could vote for the elected delegates of the lower board (5% county nobility, 5% residents of free royal cities). The election of the noble delegates (1 delegate from each county) took place in the county delegate elections, after a long, noisy, courtier campaign, at the county hall. Delegates had issues from county assemblies about voting in exact things.

The parliament consisted of about 500 people in the 17th–18th centuries.

The articles of the 1790 diet set out that the diet should meet at least once every 3 years, but, since the diet was called by the Habsburg monarchy, this promise was not kept on several occasions thereafter. As a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, it was reconstituted in 1867.

The Latin term Natio Hungarica ("Hungarian nation") was used to designate the political elite which had participation in the diet, consisting of the nobility, the Catholic clergy, and a few enfranchised burghers,^[5][6] regardless of language or ethnicity.^[7] Natio Hungarica was a geographic, institutional and juridico-political category.^[8]

The democratic character of the Hungarian parliament was reestablished with the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of the communist dictatorship in 1989. Today's parliament is still called the Országgyűlés, as in royal times, but is called the 'National Assembly' to distance itself from the historical royal diet.

Latest general election

Main article: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

Turnout (within Hungary only, excluding eligible voters abroad)^[9]

7:00	9:00	11:00	13:00	15:00	17:00	18:30	Overall
1.82%	10.31%	25.77%	40.01%	52.75%	62.92%	67.80%	70.21%

Party		Party-list			Constituency			Total seats	+/–
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Fidesz-KDNP	3,060,706	54.13	48	2,823,419	52.52	87	135	+2
	United for Hungary	1,947,331	34.44	38	1,983,708	36.90	19	57	–8
	Our Homeland Movement	332,487	5.88	6	307,064	5.71	0	6	New
	Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party	185,052	3.27	0	126,648	2.36	0	0	0
	Solution Movement	58,929	1.04	0	64,341	1.20	0	0	New
	Party of Normal Life	39,720	0.70	0	31,495	0.59	0	0	New
	National Self-Government of Germans	24,630	0.44	1				1	0
	National Self-Government of Croats	1,760	0.03	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Slovaks	1,208	0.02	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Rusyns	645	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Romanians	526	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Serbs	418	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Ukrainians	396	0.01	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Poles	281	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Greeks	232	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Slovenes	219	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Armenians	163	0.00	0				0	0
	National Self-Government of Bulgarians	157	0.00	0				0	0
	Leftist Alliance				8,678	0.16	0	0	New
	True Democratic Party				989	0.02	0	0	New
	Civic Response				521	0.01	0	0	New
	Our Party – IMA				326	0.01	0	0	New
	Party of Greens				208	0.00	0	0	New
	Democratic Organisation of the Hungarian Poor and Workers				177	0.00	0	0	New
	Hungarian Liberal Party[d]				152	0.00	0	0	0
	Independents				28,416	0.53	0	0	0
Total		5,654,860	100.00	93	5,376,142	100.00	106	199	0
Valid votes		5,654,860	99.00		5,376,142	98.80
Invalid/blank votes		57,065	1.00		65,239	1.20
Total votes		5,711,925	100.00		5,441,381	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		8,215,304	69.53		7,703,191	70.64
Source: National Electoral Commission,[9] National Electoral Commission

Result by constituency

See also: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election results by constituency

Party list results by county and in the diaspora

Results by county:
Fidesz:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
United for Hungary:      40–50%

County[10]	Fidesz-KDNP	EM	MH	MKKP	MEMO	NÉP	Turnout [11]
Bács-Kiskun	57.25	29.66	7.58	3.08	1.01	0.81	67.5%
Baranya	49.67	36.08	5.93	3.54	0.93	0.86	67.5%
Békés	52.81	34.36	7.64	2.62	0.92	0.89	66.4%
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén	54.38	34.29	6.89	2.31	0.99	0.78	64.7%
Budapest	40.84	47.84	4.11	5.19	1.26	0.53	75.5%
Csongrád-Csanád	47.44	39.69	7.34	3.61	1.10	0.72	70.5%
Fejér	53.55	33.80	6.62	3.52	1.15	0.76	71.5%
Győr-Moson-Sopron	57.07	30.83	6.21	3.28	1.33	0.72	73.7%
Hajdú-Bihar	57.88	30.87	6.60	2.69	1.02	0.83	66.1%
Heves	54.98	33.37	7.31	2.50	0.97	0.74	69.0%
Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok	55.58	33.02	7.15	2.45	0.95	0.82	65.9%
Komárom-Esztergom	50.53	36.32	6.72	3.39	1.11	0.95	69.3%
Nógrád	59.00	29.27	7.66	2.15	0.80	0.68	66.9%
Pest	50.88	36.44	5.81	4.05	1.25	0.66	72.9%
Somogy	56.33	33.48	5.97	2.22	1.02	0.66	68.2%
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg	61.66	29.04	5.59	1.64	0.91	0.80	65.4%
Tolna	58.95	28.49	6.67	2.46	0.90	0.81	68.8%
Vas	59.94	29.55	5.59	2.89	0.89	0.72	74.8%
Veszprém	52.57	34.44	6.88	3.39	1.00	0.76	71.8%
Zala	56.72	31.98	6.63	2.68	0.95	0.94	71.6%
Total in Hungary	52.45	36.15	6.15	3.42	1.10	0.73	70.21%
Diaspora	93.89	4.12	1.06	0.61	0.10	0.22	–
Total	54.13	34.44	5.88	3.27	1.04	0.70	69.59%

Speakers of the National Assembly of Hungary

Main article: List of speakers of the National Assembly (Hungary)

Historical composition of the National Assembly since 1990

MSZP   Párbeszéd   DK   Együtt   LMP   MLP   SZDSZ   Momentum   Fidesz   KDNP   MDF   FKGP   MIÉP   Jobbik   MH   Német   Others   Independent
1990[e]	33 94 21 21 164 44 3 6
1994	209 70 20 22 38 26 1
1998	134 24 148 17 48 14 1
2002	178 20 164 24
2006	190 20 141 23 11 1
2010	59 16 227 36 47 1
2014[f]	29 1 4 3 5 1 117 16 23
2018	15 5 9 1 8 117 16 26 1 1
2022	10 6 15 5 10 117 18 10 6 1 1

Notes

1. •   Ind. (1)
2. •   Szikra (1)
   •   Ind. (3)
3. •   LMP (3)
   •   DK (1)
   •   NP (1)
4. Of three constituencal candidates from the party two ran within the United for Hungary as associate members.
5. Between 1990 and 2014 the number of seats were 386.
6. Since 2014 the number of seats are 199.