Election committee suspends Czeglédy’s immunity

The National Election Committee (NVB) on Friday suspended the immunity just obtained by Csaba Czeglédy, a left-wing politician and fixer, who was released from pre-trial detention the day before, after declaring his candidacy for a parliamentary seat.

The NVB’s decision is legally binding.

The lawyer who has worked for the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) party and the Socialists was released from pre-trial detention on Thursday after being officially approved as an independent MP candidate in the April 8 general election and became eligible for immunity under Hungarian law.

Czeglédy has been under investigation for suspected defrauding of the central budget of 6 billion forints (EUR 19m), Hungary’s public prosecutor, who launched the procedure, said.

Czeglédy’s name was entered into the registry of candidates in Vas County’s first electoral district last Friday, but his candidacy only became legally binding on Thursday after the NVB rejected an appeal against it and the deadline to challenge the NVB’s decision expired.

Under Hungarian law, criminal proceedings against Czeglédy must be suspended for as long as his immunity stands, and will be continued now that it has been lifted, according to an earlier statement of the public prosecutor.

The NVB usually suspends candidates’ immunity when the criminal proceedings pertain to actions prior to the announcement of the national election and are in no relation with it.

DK said in reaction that the case surrounding Czeglédy was a way for the government to try to smear Ferenc Gyurcsany, the party’s leader.

Ruling Fidesz accuses Gyurcsány of financing Czeglédy by providing a loan through his holding company Altus.

Addressing a press conference, DK spokesman Zsolt Gréczy noted that Czeglédy had told commercial television channel Hír TV in an interview after his release on Thursday that during his time in pre-trial detention, authorities had tried to get him to give a false testimony against Gyurcsány. “This proves that Csaba Czeglédy is the victim of a politically motivated show trial and that chief public prosecutor Péter Polt is an accomplice of [Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán,” Gréczy insisted. He said the government’s aim with the Czeglédy case was to eliminate Gyurcsány as a political opponent.