Awwal 24, 1432 / April 28, 2011, SPA -- Hungary's government plans to give voting rights to ethnic Hungarians living elsewhere in central Europe as part of a planned overhaul of the country's electoral law, a top ruling party official said on Thursday, according to Reuters. The new electoral law, to be approved by Jan. 1, 2012, will complement one of the first acts of the centre-right Fidesz government after taking power last May, which eased access to citizenship for over 2 million ethnic Hungarians in the region. "...we would like to give voting rights to Hungarian citizens across the border," Fidesz parliamentary group leader Janos Lazar told news portal index.hu on Thursday. The citizenship move was considered a security threat by Slovakia, once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and prompted retaliation from the-then Slovak government, which accused Fidesz of trying to create a "Great Hungary". Fidesz denied the charge. It was not immediately clear if the pledge to grant voting rights would prove as controversial. The centre-right Slovak government, which took over from Robert Fico's left-wing cabinet last year, was not immediately available for comment. Within Hungary, critics of Fidesz say the move, already largely foreseen, is part of wider bid to entrench the party's power. The next scheduled election, when ethnic Hungarians granted citizenship would be able to vote, is due in 2014. Hungary's new electoral law will be one of around 30 derived from Hungary's new constitution, which is due to take effect next year after the two-thirds majority held by Fidesz passed it in parliament last week. The constitution drew protests from civil groups which said it had weakened democratic checks and balances. Ethnic Hungarians live in all neighbouring countries including Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine and Romania. Their ancestors lost their Hungarian citizenship under the Trianon peace treaty ending World War One which broke up the Austro-Hungarian empire. The issue is likely to be discussed between Serbian President Boris Tadic and Hungarian President Pal Schmitt next week in Belgrade, but has raised little controversy in Serbia, where the foreign ministry said on Thursday it had no comment. According to data from the Public Administration and Justice Ministry, 52,605 ethnic Hungarians in central Europe were granted Hungarian citizenship as of April 1. Lazar said details of the planned electoral changes had yet to be decided, but cited the Croatian and Italian electoral systems as an example that may be followed, where nationals living abroad can vote on separate lists. "This is not a simple question, as the state where the election is held will have to actively approve it," Lazar said. "The Slovaks, for example, say either-or, that is, who takes part in this election risks losing their (Slovak) citizenship," he said, referring to Bratislava's decision last year to strip its citizens of their Slovak nationality if they take a second citizenship. A political analyst said the issue of granting voting rights to ethnic Hungarians alone was unlikely to provoke conflicts with Hungary's neighbours, but a lot depended on the details of the eventual voting regime. "The question is what additional political topics get attached to this in Hungary's relations with its neighbours," said Attila Juhasz at think tank Political Capital. "In a campaign situation, for example, heightened political activity could lead to potential conflict situations."
