The emergence of various election observation groups — including those formed by allies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — raises concerns about political unrest and contestation of the election results, Politico reports.
With the election campaign marked by smear tactics and accusations of foreign interference, there are already concerns that whoever loses will be challenged, making the presence of election observers all the more important. Orbán faces the toughest political battle of his career, which could determine whether he can hold on to power after 16 years. The prime minister’s rivals have accused him of having an unfair advantage due to media control, vote rigging and vote buying. Orbán’s Fidesz party denies any wrongdoing.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has sent observation missions to more than 30 countries over four decades, but is now facing allegations of possible foreign influence in Hungary, mainly over a former employee of the Russian Foreign Ministry who worked as an interpreter for Vladimir Putin.
Orbán’s conservative allies are using the controversy over election monitoring to their advantage to set up their own observer group, which could cause confusion by presenting its own version of events on election day. Péter Kramer, a European Union election observer with 16 years of experience, said that when observer groups close to the government are also involved,
the result can be different accounts that could cast doubt on the outcome of the election.
The OSCE is sending international observer teams to the elections to assess whether the elections are being conducted democratically. The organization has recently criticized Hungary, and has published reports indicating that the fairness of the vote is being threatened by unequal opportunities for parties. However, the OSCE is also currently battling accusations that its work in Hungary has been compromised. In March, Hungarian journalists and rights groups identified Daria Boyarskaya, a senior adviser to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly who worked as an interpreter for Putin during meetings with US representatives. Her role is to help coordinate monitoring of this year’s elections. Orbán is one of the Kremlin’s closest allies in Europe, and the disturbing news has raised questions about whether the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly missions will be able to adequately assess the conduct of the vote. Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian non-governmental organization Helsinki Commission, said that when Putin’s former interpreter is organizing the election observation, it undermines the OSCE’s much-needed credibility.
Meanwhile, OSCE spokesman Nat Parry said that Boyarskaya had never worked as a full-time interpreter for Putin and condemned the attack on the adviser, saying that the accusations were based solely on her nationality. However, both the Helsinki Commission and Transparency International Hungary believe that Boyarskaya’s previous employment and the necessary clearances cast doubt on the OSCE’s observation activities. Miklós Ligeti, legal director of Transparency International Hungary, said that they would boycott this year’s observation mission because of the situation. Pardavi, in turn, stressed: “In Hungary’s undemocratic context, where the government regularly threatens and intimidates civil society and journalists,
international election observers should take care to ensure their mission has the full trust
of the people and organizations that share sensitive information with them.”
The Parliamentary Assembly mission, to which Boyarskaya is attached, will have to coordinate visits by foreign politicians to polling stations.
Perry expressed concern that the controversy over Boyarskaya’s position within the OSCE could jeopardize the organization’s work. He said that the uproar would achieve exactly what its organizers allegedly tried to prevent, namely, causing the organization to lose credibility.
In parallel with the Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is also sending hundreds of experts to observe the elections at a technical level and provide a final assessment of the fairness of the elections. This mission is also threatened by Boyarskaya’s presence.
The smooth conduct of the elections is further threatened by the Freedom Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, an international right-wing group affiliated with Fidesz. The group is led by Anna Wellisz, president of the conservative Edmund Burke Foundation, and Jerzy Kwaśniewski, a Polish lawyer and head of the Catholic fundamentalist Ordo Iuris Institute. Both leaders are affiliated with major right-wing associations that have attracted international political heavyweights, such as US President Donald Trump, British populist Nigel Farage, and Orbán. The Freedom Coalition for Free and Fair Elections said in a statement that Hungary’s decision to observe the elections was prompted by criticism of the OSCE, as well as its decision to reject applications for observer positions from several highly qualified experts.
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