Fully 69.74 percent of people with dual Hungarian citizenship in other countries that had registered for the April 3 election cast their ballot this way.Continue reading
Hungarians living beyond the borders, including in Transylvania, support the government’s policies for their communities, evidenced by their votes at the recent general election, according to the head of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania.
In an interview with pro-Fidesz daily Magyar Nemzet on Tuesday, Hunor Kelemen noted that the number of mail-in votes had increased by 24 percent since the previous elections four years ago, and turnout at the Hungarian consulate had also increased.
Kelemen welcomed the increased interest in the Hungarian elections, adding that Transylvanian Hungarians who also hold Hungarian citizenship had got a chance to express their opinion about the government’s treatment of Hungarian communities beyond the borders.
Support for the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrats abroad approached 94 percent, he said, confirming that Hungarians beyond the borders approved of the changes in government policies for ethnic Hungarians abroad witnessed during the past decade-plus, he said.
Dual citizenship, the sense of belonging, has created an emotional bond with Fidesz, and the support for Fidesz among Hungarians in Romania was not about money, it was not about financial support from the Orbán government, the RMDSZ politician said. According to Kelemen, the Hungarian opposition has failed to not understand this.
He said the two-thirds majority victory was important because it lent the government strong legitimacy in a difficult period.
Commenting on Hungarian-Romanian relations, he said the forming of a new Hungarian government could give further impetus to bilateral relations. “This is all the more important because there is a war in a neighboring country and everything will change around us in the years to come”, he said.
In the featured photo: Hunor Kelemen at Fidesz 2021 congress last year. Photo by Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI