According to Momentum Movement’s own estimation, about 110.000 signatures have been collected so far in favor of a referendum on Budapest’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics, the youth movement’s spokesman told news portal index.hu.
Gergő Papp said they still wanted to collect at least 60.000 more signatures before the deadline (17 February), because 10-15 percent of them might be invalid. In addition, however, other opposition groups such as Együtt (Together), Párbeszéd (Dialogue), and the Kétfarkú Kutya (Two-Tailed Dog) parties have been collecting signatures as well. In order to trigger a referendum, the opposition forces need to gather at least 138,000 valid signatures from Budapest residents by 18th of February.
As we have previously written, the “NOlimpia” campaign was started by the hitherto unknown Momentum Movement in order to thwart Budapest’s bid to host the Olympic Games in 2024. The admittedly anti-government and anti-establishment movement, which is reportedly looking into the possibility to become a political party under the leadership of group leader András Fekete-Győr (pictured above), was founded in 2015 by a group of young Hungarians seeking radical change in the country’s public life.
Answering a journalist question on the referendum initiative, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said last week that his cabinet would accept “a decision made in a form acceptable to the public”. The Prime Minister insisted, however, he would not comment on the current referendum initiative until the period available for collecting the signatures is over.
Click to read more about the press reactions to the referendum initiative here.
via index.hu; photo: Lászó Végh – Magyar Nemzet / mno.hu