The use of vármegye instead of simply megye¸ the party argues, “ensures the survival of the constitutional traditions established over a millennium of Hungarian statehood.”Continue reading
On Tuesday, Parliament adopted the 11th amendment to Hungary’s Fundamental Law, timing local elections in Hungary to fall on the same day as European parliamentary elections.
The amendment was passed with 140 votes in favor and 36 against, with a two-thirds majority.
Local mayors and councilors who obtained their mandates in 2019 will stay in their positions until October 1, 2024, the next EP elections, according to the decision.
Ruling Fidesz and Christian Democrat lawmakers who submitted the proposal said timing the two elections together would cut costs.
Also in line with historic traditions, from January 1st, 2023, the name of Hungary’s administrative designations ‘megye’ (county) is changing to ‘vármegye,’ (verbatim translation: ‘castle-county’) a return to the historic administrative designations used in Hungary before its Soviet occupation after the Second World War.
The amendment includes that from the foundation of the Hungarian state until 1949, ‘vármegye’ was the basic territorial unit of the Hungarian administration.
“The use of the term ‘vármegye’ better emphasizes that the central idea of the Hungarian state organization and structure is the protection of national sovereignty, and through this, the cornerstones of European civilization,” the justification of the amendment states.
via MTI
Featured photo illustration by Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI