2026 Citizen Election Report released

20k – Szabad Szavazat, K-Monitor, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Mérték Media Monitor, Political Capital, and TASZ jointly present the civil report on the 2026 parliamentary elections.

The purpose of the document is to provide a comprehensive overview of the entire electoral process from a Hungarian perspective, drawing on local experience and feedback from hundreds of ballot counters, observers, human rights defenders, journalists, and voters.

According to the report, the 2026 election was characterized by systemic inequalities. The blurring of lines between state and party communication, the use of state resources for campaign purposes, the lack of transparency in campaign financing, deficiencies in media pluralism, and the limited effectiveness of electoral remedies all contributed to an uneven playing field in the political competition.

The report specifically addresses disinformation experienced during the campaign, social media manipulation, attempts at foreign interference, as well as abuses surrounding mail-in voting and the national minority register.

At the same time, the document highlights that Election Day itself proceeded without major incidents, and the electoral bodies generally performed their technical and logistical tasks adequately. The presence of civil and volunteer actors, the work of delegates in ballot counting committees, and the operation of legal aid services and incident reporting systems played a crucial role in protecting the integrity of the election.

However, the organizations emphasize that the fact that Hungarian law still does not permit domestic civil election observation remains a serious problem. This unjustifiably limits social oversight and weakens public trust in the elections.

The shared goal of the organizing NGOs is for this document to contribute to making the electoral system more transparent, fair, and accountable, and to serve as a basis for future legislative and policy reforms.