The incoming governing Fidesz-Christian-Democratic alliance on Monday submitted a proposal to reduce the number of seats in Hungary’s Parliament from 386 to 211 seats.
Thirteen of the mandates are to be set aside for representatives of minorities.
The Fidesz bill on changes to the electoral system seeks to retain its mixed structure, though it would eliminate regional lists and voters would tick boxes for national lists of political parties instead. The surplus national lists would also be retained but rules defining individual constituencies changed, according to the proposal.
If the bill is passed into law, 90 deputies would get mandates from individual constituencies, 78 from national lists and 30 seats would be distributed on basis of the lists of surplus votes.
National lists could be set up by parties with candidates in at least 23 individual constituencies.
Voters would continue to cast two ballots: one for an individual candidate and the other for a party list. The five-percent parliamentary threshold would be retained as well as the recommendation of 750 voters as a prerequisite for the nomination of a candidate.
Tibor Navracsics, deputy prime minister designate of the incoming Fidesz government, said the new bill targeting smaller parliament “settles an old debt” after the Socialists had voted down their proposals 71 times when they were in government.
On a different subject, Navracsics dismissed criticism over the establishment of the post of deputy prime minister, which requires a change of the constitution. He said the move would not create a “quasi-presidential” system and would not create imbalance among ministerial powers.
Concerning salaries of the incoming ministers, Navracsics said that the prime minister will have the authority to reduce salaries within his cabinet by 20 percent.
