Hungary wanted Ukraine to change electoral system to let Hungarians into its Parliament

Hungary tried to impose a demand about a guaranteed representation of national minorities in the Ukrainian Parliament (the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine) onto Ukraine.

This demand became one of the most problematic ones in the list and got rejected.

At first Orbán’s government wanted to impose the current Hungarian system, within which the representatives of several national minorities have representation in the Parliament, guaranteed by law, onto Ukraine.

However, this idea turned out to be politically unacceptable, since it requires changing a protected article of the Ukrainian Constitution which is impossible without an all-Ukrainian referendum.

Since martial law is in place in Ukraine, this idea is impossible. Due to this Hungary has already hinted about possible concessions in this issue.

Nevertheless, Hungary does not plan on giving up its idea to force Ukraine to cancel a legal demand for all chosen officials to speak the national language and make speeches at the council meetings in it.

In practical terms it means that even a Ukrainian Hungarian who does not speak Ukrainian can be chosen as a member of a regional council or even the Ukrainian Parliament.

At the end of January, during a visit to Uzhhorod, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó handed the Ukrainian side a list of 11 demands intended to guarantee the rights of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine.

Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the head of Ukraine’s delegation in negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, said that Ukraine was prepared to fulfil Hungary’s 11 demands regarding the rights of national minorities in Ukraine.