Liberal NGOs criticise supreme court over govt migrant quota referendum approval

Budapest, May 4 (MTI) – Three rights organisations and a think-tank criticised a recent Kuria decision giving the green light to a government-initiated referendum on migrant quotas, in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Citizens in the proposed referendum would be asked:

“Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary without the approval of parliament?”

The Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) and Political Capital said that the question does not fall within parliament’s authority and “falsely suggests” that the outcome of a national referendum would eventually oblige parliament to pass a decision that could “override” a common decision made on an EU-level.

The government defines Hungary’s position on the quota system and parliament has no influence on that position, they added.

The civil groups also said the wording of the question was ambiguous, leaving the exact subject of the referendum unclear.

It is also unclear what legal obligations the national assembly would have after the referendum, they said, adding that the outcome would then give the government a “blank cheque.”