Hungary approves extra government powers, with no end date
Two members of the military police patrol the streets in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 30, 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, two days earlier the government implemented a lockdown. For two weeks, homes and residences may only be left for work or to purchase essential goods. Members of the police are tasked to ensure compliance with the rules by providing support and being empathetic with the residents. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or…
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for the plenary session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 30, 2020. Later MPs approved legislation that extends a state of emergency and gives the government extraordinary powers to enact measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Zoltan Mathe/MTI via AP)
Municipal workers wearing protective clothing spray disinfectant on the streets to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 30, 2020. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Zoltan Mihadak/MTI via AP)
Catholic Parish Gyorgy Benyik, right, holds a mass in front of the believers' portraits due to the government regulations to prevent the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the Saint Gellert church in Szeged, Hungary, Sunday, March 29, 2020. The believers could follow the mass online. (Tibor Rosta/MTI via AP)
Military policemen patrol the Lehel square market in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, March 29, 2020. Due to the coronavirus outbreak from 28 March a curfew will be imposed on the entire territory of Hungary until 11 April. For two weeks, homes and residences may only be left for work or for essential needs. Grocery stores, drugstores, pharmacies are only open to those who are over 65-years-old between 9 a.m. and noon. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)
Two members of the military police patrol the streets in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 30, 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, two days earlier the government implemented a lockdown. For two weeks, homes and residences may only be left for work or to purchase essential goods. Members of the police are tasked to ensure compliance with the rules by providing support and being empathetic with the residents. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or…
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, chats with MP of the governing Fidesz party Lajos Kosa during the plenary session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 30, 2020. Later MPs approved legislation that extends a state of emergency and gives the government extraordinary powers to enact measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Zoltan Mathe/MTI via AP)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's parliament on Monday approved a bill giving Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government extraordinary powers during the coronavirus pandemic, without setting an end date for their expiration.
The bill was approved by Orban's Fidesz party and other government supporters by 137 votes in favor to 53 against. It needed 133 votes to pass.
It has been criticized by opposition parties, international institutions and civic groups for failing include an expiration date for the government's ability to rule by decree.
It also includes measures against false information which have raised concerns they they could be used by the government to muzzle independent media.
“The extraordinary measures are related to the pandemic, to its prevention, its elimination and the damaging economic consequences,” said Csaba Domotor, a deputy minister in Orban's Cabinet Office. “A time limit cannot be declared in this situation because there is no one ... who can say how many months of struggle we have to prepare for.”
Opposition lawmakers said they were willing to give the government the requested powers, but only if they were set for a certain period, with the possibility of extensions.
“The opposition is united on the issue of giving the government powers which are significantly more extensive than the authority in the Constitution,” said Tamas Harangozo, a lawmaker with the opposition Socialist Party." The opposition's request is that “the government accept that it can only do this within time limits.”
The human rights chief at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe also expressed concerns about the new legislation.
“It is clear that states need to act swiftly in order to protect their populations from the COVID-19 pandemic, and I understand that extraordinary measures may be required to do so,” said Ingibjorg Gisladottir, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “However, a state of emergency —wherever it is declared and for whatever reason — must be proportionate to its aim, and only remain in place for as long as absolutely necessary.”
Hungary declared a state of emergency on March 11 due to the spread of coronavirus, which so far has infected 447 people in Hungary, with 15 deaths.