1994 Hungarian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 8 May 1994, with a second round of voting in 174 of the 176 single member constituencies on 29 May.[1][2][3] They resulted in the return to power of the Hungarian Socialist Party, the former Communist party, under the leadership of Gyula Horn, who became prime minister. The Socialists achieved a remarkable revival, winning an overall majority of 209 seats out of 386, up from 33 in 1990.

1994 Hungarian parliamentary election

← 1990 8 May 1994 (first round)
29 May 1994 (second round)
1998 →

All 386 seats to the Országgyűlés
194 seats needed for a majority
Turnout68.92% (first round)
55.12% (second round)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Gyula Horn Gábor Kuncze Péter Boross
Party MSZP SZDSZ MDF
Leader since 27 May 1990 [a] 12 December 1993[b]
Last election 33 seats, 10.89% 94 seats, 21.40% 164 seats, 24.72%
Seats won
Seat change Increase 176 Decrease 25 Decrease 126
1R vote and % 1,689,081 (31.3%) 1,005,766 (18.6%) 649,966 (12.0%)
2R vote and % 1,945,355 (45.4%) 1,219,472 (28.4%) 638,866 (14.9%)
Party vote 1,781,867 1,066,074 633,957
% and swing 32.99% Increase22.10 pp 19.74% Decrease1.66 pp 11.74% Decrease12.98 pp

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader József Torgyán László Surján Viktor Orbán
Party FKGP KDNP Fidesz
Leader since 26 April 1991 27 May 1990 18 April 1993
Last election 44 seats, 11.74% 21 seats, 6.46% 22 seats, 8.95%
Seats won
Seat change Decrease 18 Increase 1 Decrease 2
1R vote and % 425,482 (7.9%) 397,887 (7.4%) 416,143 (7.7%)
2R vote and % 252,405 (5.9%) 126,616 (3.0%) 29,391 (0.7%)
Party vote 476,416 379,573 379,295
% and swing 8.82% Decrease2.92 pp 7.03% Increase0.57 pp 7.02% Decrease1.93 pp

Results of the election. A darker shade indicates a higher vote share. Proportional list results are displayed in the top left.

Government before election

Boross Government
MDFEKGPKDNP

Government after election

Horn Government
MSZPSZDSZ

The governing Hungarian Democratic Forum was severely defeated, falling from 165 seats to 38 for third place. It was also a disappointment for the principal opposition party of the previous parliament, the Alliance of Free Democrats, which failed to capitalize on the government's unpopularity and lost seats. Poor economic performance, apparent government incompetence and a certain nostalgia for the social security of the communist era appear to be the main reasons for the result, together with significant reform of the Socialists' policies, with commitment to the expansion for the market economy and continued compensation for the victims of communism.

While the Socialists had enough seats to govern alone, Horn decided to form a coalition with the Free Democrats, giving him a two-thirds majority. This was partly to assuage public concerns inside and outside Hungary over an ex-Communist party with an absolute majority, and partly to get his reform package past his own party's left wing.

Results

edit
 
PartyProportionalSMCs (first round)SMCs (second round)Seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsVotes%SeatsNationalTotal+/–
Hungarian Socialist Party1,781,50432.99531,688,83531.2721,943,75745.341477209+176
Alliance of Free Democrats1,065,88919.74281,005,65818.6201,221,06928.49162569–25
Hungarian Democratic Forum633,77011.7418649,87212.030639,86614.9351538–126
Independent Smallholders' Party476,2728.8214425,3467.880252,4055.8911126–18
Christian Democratic People's Party379,5237.035397,8737.370126,6162.9531422+1
Fidesz379,3447.027416,1167.70029,3910.6901320–2
Workers' Party172,1093.190177,4163.2806,2680.150000
Republican Party137,5612.550104,2531.9309,7740.23000New
Agrarian Alliance113,3842.100132,1732.45014,5440.34101–1
Hungarian Justice and Life Party85,7371.59067,1621.24000New
Social Democratic Party of Hungary51,1100.95032,9120.610000
United Smallholders' Party44,2920.82043,1860.80000New
Liberal Civic Alliance–Entrepreneurs Party33,3670.62042,9510.80000New
National Democratic Alliance28,0750.52032,2580.60000New
Green Party of Hungary8,8090.1604,7660.090000
Compromise Independent Smallholders' Party5,9180.1104,3860.08000New
Conservative Party2,0460.0405,2400.10000New
Green Alternative8490.0202,6380.05000New
Market Party6350.0105,4590.10000New
ASZSZDSZ9,2800.1709,6130.22000
VPASZ6,4400.1207,6660.18101
SZDSZKP4,6640.0905,4940.13000
Gypsy Solidarity Party3,2820.06000New
Independent Hungarian Democratic Party2,3660.040000
Democratic Coalition Party2,1170.04000New
National Alliance of Hungarian Families2,0050.04000New
Historic Independent Smallholders' Party1,7920.03000New
VPFidesz1,3470.02000
Pensioners' Party1,2450.020000
Social Democratic Party1,1970.02000New
Democratic Party1,1500.02000New
EKGPKDNP8400.02000
Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party7040.01000New
Party of the Hungarian Interest4160.01000New
Union of Hungarian Biomedicists3340.01000New
Hungarian Mothers' National Party2650.00000New
Electoral Coalition for the Hungarians2110.00000New
Party for Historic Hungary2030.00000New
Hungarian Party of the Unemployed1900.00000New
National Forces' Movement1880.00000New
Independents122,1902.26020,1340.47000–6
Total5,400,194100.001255,400,926100.0024,286,597100.00174853860
Valid votes5,400,19498.445,400,92698.464,286,59798.77
Invalid/blank votes85,3441.5684,6921.5453,2991.23
Total votes5,485,538100.005,485,618100.004,339,896100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,959,22868.927,959,20668.927,873,93755.12
Source: CLEA, Nohlen & Stöver

Party list results by county

edit
County[4] MSZP SZDSZ MDF FKGP KDNP Fidesz Workers' Party Republican Party Agrarian Alliance MIÉP Others
Bács-Kiskun 26.70 18.07 12.82 12.36 7.63 6.57 3.00 1.87 3.38 1.60 6.00
Baranya 32.09 21.75 10.87 8.48 6.30 6.60 3.13 3.35 2.31 1.51 3.62
Békés 31.93 19.35 9.75 12.40 3.97 5.99 5.46 3.32 2.07 - 5.77
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén 40.12 16.26 9.60 6.93 8.89 6.95 4.31 1.79 2.14 - 3.00
Budapest 35.15 20.77 14.94 4.60 5.61 6.15 2.64 4.78 1.76 3.58 -
Csongrád 26.88 20.64 10.64 11.38 7.20 6.92 3.47 2.64 2.87 2.02 5.35
Fejér 33.37 19.52 9.85 10.42 5.62 10.01 2.63 2.88 2.03 1.59 2.08
Győr-Moson-Sopron 26.75 22.21 12.68 10.89 8.18 8.11 1.93 2.68 1.62 - 4.95
Hajdú-Bihar 35.47 17.49 10.49 9.91 4.77 8.04 2.46 1.59 2.44 2.29 5.04
Heves 34.61 20.84 9.68 7.45 8.76 5.63 4.71 1.35 1.73 1.44 3.81
Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok 34.97 19.39 9.57 10.27 5.12 7.41 4.74 1.63 2.02 - 4.88
Komárom-Esztergom 38.72 22.89 8.64 8.37 6.42 6.36 3.39 - 1.69 - 3.52
Nógrád 34.79 16.61 10.47 6.23 10.73 6.50 10.60 - 1.69 - 2.39
Pest 29.88 20.69 12.00 9.62 7.70 7.01 2.19 3.19 1.66 2.49 3.57
Somogy 40.60 15.42 9.03 12.37 6.49 7.42 1.86 1.25 2.24 1.52 1.79
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg 32.64 16.25 12.00 8.79 7.84 7.61 3.54 1.58 1.93 1.72 6.09
Tolna 31.25 18.07 10.65 8.25 8.88 7.92 2.59 2.04 4.18 2.09 4.09
Vas 25.83 25.63 12.31 11.32 10.54 6.99 2.15 1.44 2.60 - 1.19
Veszprém 29.00 22.31 12.23 10.44 7.74 8.04 2.10 1.26 1.94 - 4.95
Zala 29.37 18.87 12.35 13.91 9.81 7.66 2.13 - 2.06 - 3.84
Total 32.99 19.73 11.73 8.82 7.03 7.01 3.18 2.53 2.10 1.58 3.25

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Kuncze was lead candidate for SZDSZ, but was not party leader
  2. ^ Boross had been Prime Minister since 12 December 1993, but was not party leader.

References

edit
  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p899 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Fitzmaurice, John (1995). "The Hungarian election of May 1994". Electoral Studies. 14 (1): 77–80. doi:10.1016/0261-3794(95)95772-3. ISSN 0261-3794.
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p925
  4. ^ "1994. évi országgyűlési választás 1. forduló – Területi választókerületek listák eredményei". Archived from the original on 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2023-09-07.