Voting in the 9 June elections is open to residents who have established their residence in the 30 days preceding the date of the election.
Foreign residents, residents of the capital and rural residents, please note: If you live in Budapest and wish to vote in Budapest, there is still time to establish a residence: to vote, you must register your Budapest address on your residence card by 1 March.
On 9 June, the country will elect both the country (MEPs) and Budapest (local government, nationality representatives, mayors, members of the European Parliament and the Mayor of Budapest). In 2024, the two elections will be held simultaneously: according to the 2022 Constitutional Amendment, the two elections will be held in a joint election procedure, which was decided on the basis of significant cost savings.
Although the costs will be reduced, the electoral burden will not: a resident of the capital is expected to receive five ballot papers if they want to participate in both elections, as they will have to decide at the same time
- their district representative / national minority representative
- the mayor of the district,
- the Mayor of Budapest,
- the list of representatives to the Budapest City Assembly
- and the party lists on the European Parliament list.
Municipal elections are a vote about local representation, about the processes you support in your immediate neighbourhood, in the area where you live. By law, a voter may in principle vote at the place of residence or registered residence indicated on his or her residence card, provided that the voter has established this residence within 30 days before the election is called (the election has not yet been called, but as the constitutional amendment requires it to be held on the day of the European Parliament elections, so the date is definitely 9 June, which will not change).
Therefore, an important deadline for those living in the capital whose permanent address is not in Budapest: if they establish a residence with a Budapest address by 1 March, they will be entered in the electoral register of Budapest and will be able to vote in the city. In practice, this means a simple change of address card, which can be arranged at any government office after a short wait (you can also make an appointment online, but you can get in line quickly by taking a number on the spot).
The same applies to the more than 100,000 foreigners currently living in Budapest: according to the latest figures from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, the second most populous group is Ukrainians, with more than 13,000, alongside nearly 15,000 Chinese. In addition to the significant Vietnamese colony, Budapest is home to more than 1,000 Italians, Indians, Poles, Britons, South Koreans, Turks, Iranians, Americans, Mongolians and Norwegians.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hungary's EU membership: the first EP elections were held in 2004, and since then, in 2009, 2014 and most recently in 2019, Hungarians have had the chance to decide who will represent Hungary in the European Parliament. The whole territory of Hungary will count as one constituency, and all voters will vote for the same list.
The election is open to all Hungarian citizens of voting age residing in Hungary, but few people know that citizens of any other EU Member State can also vote if they are resident in Hungary. You do not automatically register, you must apply in advance to be entered on the central electoral roll using this form. This application will remove your name from the original electoral roll of your home country.
Please note: Establishing residence should not be confused with re-registration. Anyone who does not have an address in the capital but will be in the capital at the time of voting and therefore wishes to vote here and does not wish to travel to the polling station of their permanent address may submit an application by 5 June, the fourth day before the vote.
However, if you plan to travel on 9 June, you can only participate in elections to the European Parliament at a representation abroad. For municipal elections, the law does not grant this right. Anyone who wants to have a say in local politics must be in Hungary on election day.