ODIHR Opens Election Observation Mission In Hungary.

Budapest; February 2026: The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission ahead of the 12th April 2026 parliamentary elections, following an invitation from the national authorities and based on the findings of a pre-election needs assessment mission.

The mission is headed by Eoghan Murphy and consists of a core team of 15 international experts based in Budapest. 18 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 07th March, and ODIHR also plans to request 200 short-term observers, to arrive several days before election day. The core team experts and long-term observers come from 26 different OSCE states.

“Our long-term observers will soon be arriving in Hungary and will be present across the country from big towns to small villages, looking carefully at the process before, during, and after the vote. As well as meeting election officials, they will also speak to candidates, civil society representatives, and the media, to get a thorough understanding of all the most important aspects of the elections”, Eoghan Murphy said.

The mission will closely monitor all key aspects of the elections, such as the campaign, including on social networks, campaign finance, the work of the election administration at national, regional and local level, the legal framework, institutional arrangements put in place by the authorities to detect disinformation, media coverage, and election dispute resolution. Observers will also assess the implementation of previous ODIHR election recommendations. Members of the observation mission will also meet representatives of the national authorities, political parties, civil society, the media, and the international community.

“As always, our mission is fully independent and impartial. Its assessment of the elections is based on a well-established methodology developed by ODIHR over more than 30 years and constantly refined in response to the evolving election landscape”, Murphy said.

For election day itself, delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will join efforts with the ODIHR mission. ODIHR has observed 06 previous parliamentary elections in Hungary, including the most recent ones in 2022.

An interim report will be published by ODIHR 02 weeks prior to the elections to update the public and the media on the observation mission’s activities. The day after the elections, the mission’s initial findings and conclusions will be presented at a joint press conference. A final report with a comprehensive assessment and containing recommendations to help improve the process for the future will be published in the months following the elections.

ODIHR carries out election observation across the OSCE region. Election observation missions assess the extent to which fundamental freedoms are respected in the campaign and if the elections are characterised by equality, universality, political pluralism, confidence, transparency and accountability. ODIHR’s mandate to observe elections comes from the OSCE commitments outlined in the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document, other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as national legislation. Since the Office’s establishment over 30 years ago, ODIHR has deployed more than 470 missions.

Traits Of ODIHR –

Long-term Observation: The mission will assess whether the elections are held in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely follow fundamental components of the elections such as:

• election-related legislation and its implementation
• the work of the election administration and other relevant bodies
• voter registration
• candidate registration
• campaign environment and activities, including online and through social media platforms
• institutional preparedness and effectiveness to detect and address disinformation, foreign and domestic misinformation and interference, co-operation with social media platforms
• campaign finance, including its regulation, transparency and accountability
• media environment and media coverage of the elections
• the resolution of election-related disputes

The observers will also assess how prior ODIHR election related recommendations have been considered. The ODIHR EOM will conduct qualitative and quantitative monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign, including on social networks.

Election Day: ODIHR will request the secondment of 200 short-term observers from OSCE participating States to follow the election day proceedings. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two which will observe:

• the opening of polling stations
• the voting
• the counting of ballots
• the tabulation of results at all levels.

For election day itself, delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will join efforts with the ODIHR mission. The day after the elections, ODIHR will issue a joint statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued some months after the end of the election process.

Mission schedule:

• 25th February: Arrival of the core team,
• 05th March: Arrival of long-term observers,
• 06th March: Briefing of long-term observers,
• 07th March: Deployment of long-term observers throughout the country,
• 08th April: Arrival of short-term observers,
• 12th April: Election day,
• 13th April: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions,
• 15th April: Departure of short-term observers,
• 19th April: Departure of long-term observers,
• 22nd April: Core team departure.

Excerpts –

On 13th January 2026, accordance to the provision, the President of Hungary had called the parliamentary elections to be held on 12th April 2026. The 199 members of parliament will be elected for a four-year term under a mixed system.

The upcoming elections take place in a highly polarised and increasingly charged political environment shaped by economic challenges, resulting social discontent, growth of a new opposition political force and competing narratives about the country’s international alignment. Interlocutors from civil society, independent media and opposition political parties emphasised the further tightening of the civic space and decline of the rule of law, as well as increased pressure on the conduct of their regular work in recent years. All ODIHR NAM interlocutors stressed the significance the upcoming elections and expect a high voter turnout. Several aspects of the election-related legislation were amended since the last parliamentary elections, including with respect to constituency boundary delimitation, campaign finance, and procedural rules pertaining to the electoral process.

Many ODIHR NAM interlocutors raised concerns that the reform process lacked inclusiveness and genuine consultation, and opined that the amendments further exacerbated the already existing advantages of the ruling party. Many prior ODIHR recommendations, including those related to suffrage rights, the electoral-boundary delimitation, prevention of the misuse of administrative resources and blurring of state and party functions, media freedom, campaign finance, and citizen observation remain unaddressed.

The electoral process is administered by a parallel three-tiered structure with the National Election Commission (NEC) primarily overseeing compliance with the law and the National Election Office (NEO) supervising the administrative part of the elections. Preparations are ongoing and no specific challenges were noted by the election administration.

Team Maverick.