The National Election Committee (NVB) on Thursday rejected a submission by a private individual on holding a referendum on protective measures against coronavirus.
The petitioner had intended to ask citizens whether they agree that the government should not have a right to declare a state of emergency over the pandemic as it cannot be considered a disaster “endangering life and property” under the constitution. The NVB rejected the question on the ground that the matter did not fall within parliament’s jurisdiction and was aimed at amending the constitution.
A second question was aimed at writing into law that making the exercise of certain rights conditional on wearing a face mask constituted a crime against humanity. This, too, was rejected due to a lack of legal clarity and on the ground that it was aimed at amending the constitution.
A third question called for a law declaring that “making a genetically modified nucleic acid-based vaccine” mandatory also amounted to a crime against humanity. The committee rejected the question arguing that such a law would hinder the state in carrying out its duty to protect the public’s life and health.
The NVB’s decisions are not legally binding and can be appealed at the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court, within 15 days.
Fetured image by Márton Mónus/MTI
