Referendum – Opposition DK calling for boycott of planned constitutional amendment

Budapest, October 3 (MTI) – The opposition Democratic Coalition will boycott the vote on a constitutional amendment planned in the wake of the recent referendum on European Union migrant quotas, and is calling on all opposition parties to follow suit, party leader Ferenc Gyurcsány said on Monday.

“It is political roguery to respond to a failed referendum by initiating a constitutional amendment,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s vow to amend the constitution to reflect the referendum’s outcome of “no” to EU binding migrant quotas.

When the government invites a referendum, it is asking for people’s approval to do something, Gyurcsány said. “An invalid referendum means that the people withheld their approval of the Orbán government’s way of doing things,” he added.

Between May and August, the leading pollsters forecast turnout of well above 50 percent at the referendum. According to Gyurcsány, the opposition’s campaign since late August and early September has convinced more than a million people not to vote or to spoil their ballot papers.