elections

Reading news in Hungary is an arduous task. If you speak the language and open your browser to learn about current affairs, you’d be hit by a dystopian reality. Only a handful of independent online outlets exist, and the situation is worse in the print media or in places outside of the capital, Budapest.

On January 12, 2022, the Republikon Institute organized the “Finish Line” conference, where political science experts and researchers discussed the possible results of the upcoming Hungarian elections in April.

United Russia party gained a majority of votes in a parliamentary election accompanied by alleged widespread violations. While observers report cases of forced voting and vote-rigging, Russian officials shift the blame to foreign media and NGOs. Their rhetoric is echoed by the pro-Russian disinformation media.

The eagerly awaited parliamentary elections in Slovakia are all over. Igor Matovič, the expected new Slovakian Prime Minister, became the clear winner with his anti-corruption movement “Ordinary People and Independent Personalities” (OĽaNO).

Ukrainian government needs to take steps to reduce the possibility of hostile takeovers of property and should ensure transparent and lawful conduct of the judicial system and law enforcement agencies. It should also engage Ukrainian business associations in policy making.

The voting day in Ukrainian presidential elections passed rather calmly, and observers have not reported major electoral fraud, stating that basic standards of free elections were safeguarded. Hopefully the same will apply to the second round on April 21, 2019.

Even though the victory of Zuzana Čaputová in the presidential elections in Slovakia is undeniably a positive development for the Central European region, it should not be perceived as a new macro trend.

Estonia has stood up to its reputation of the liberal Musterland in the region. The opposition center-right Reform Party secured a convincing victory over the currently governing center-left Center Party.

Today, I have some very bad news. Yes, this is the end of democracy in Poland. Yesterday (2015 parliamentary elections), the votes of Poles began this process, today it is in the middle, and tomorrow (2019 parliamentary elections), it may end with the death of the free Republic of Poland as we know it.

Republikon Institute organized a conference during which political analysts, activists, and representatives of Hungarian opposition parties discussed what to expect after the April elections.