Minority Self-governments
Minority Self-governments
Prior to 1993 the public role of the minorities was played out in the frame of various civil organizations. The Act on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities, however, declares that minorities have the right to establish their own local and national self-governments.
The minority self-governments are elected bodies which represent the interests of the given national or ethnic minority at settlement or national level. Unlike organizations operating in an associative form, local minority self-governments represent not only their membership but also the entire minority community of a settlement. With the establishment of the minority self-government system, the minorities living in Hungary received a right whereby they could legitimately integrate into the system of local governance so that the rights of the national and ethnic minorities living in the given settlement are also implemented in the course of conducting public affairs of local interest.
The minority self-governments were established with the aim of guaranteeing cultural autonomy. As such the minority self-governments have rights guaranteed by the law, allowing them to make decisions within their respective scope of authority on the foundation, adoption, and maintenance of institutions, particularly in the areas of local education, the local printed and electronic media, and the nurturing of traditions and culture.
Voting for minority self-governments takes place at the same time as municipal elections. During elections every franchised person in the given settlement may take part and cast a vote for candidates of the given minority. The success and strengthening of the minority self-government system is demonstrated by figures showing that whereas during minority self-government elections held in 1994 and 1995, 822 minority self-governments were formed, following the 1998 elections 1,367 local and nine metropolitan minority self-governments were formed across the country. The largest growth was evident in the number of Romany minority self-governments, although the number of German, Slovak and Croatian minority self-governments also increased markedly. As a result of the elections, the Bulgarian national minority formed 15 self-governments, the Romany communities elected 768, Greeks 19, Croatians 75, Poles 33, Germans 272, Armenians 25, Romanians 33, Ruthenians 10, Serbs 35, Slovaks 76, Slovenes 10, and the Ukrainians 5 self-governments.
Of the various forms of minority self-government, the type that is at the same time a settlement (municipal) government and a minority self-government is worth paying close attention to. Minority settlement self-government status confers the same rights as regional autonomy, opening the way to providing the most efficient means for the realization of minority interests. In contrast with the 46 minority settlement self-governments set up in the former term, 63 such bodies were established from the 1,367 local minority self-governments following the October 1998 elections. The German and Croatian minorities availed themselves of this opportunity to the greatest extent.
Minority self-governments can determine their protected monuments and memorial sites, the dates of local and national holidays, and they have the right to establish and run cultural and educational institutions, schools, museums, and theaters. They are entitled to determine their own organizational and operational regulations independently. Local minority self-governments have a right to veto proposals if the municipal government is working on regulations concerning cultural, educational or language matters related to the given minority. They also hold a veto in the question of the appointment of directors of minority institutions.
The national minority self-governments represent the given minority at national level. The formation of national self-governments occurs on the basis of electoral assemblies following the formation of local minority self-governments. As such, all 13 minorities in Hungary established their own national self-governments in 1999. As partners in legislation and state administration, the national minority self-governments air their views on planned legal regulations concerning the minorities represented by them. The law grants them the right to professionally monitor minority education, as well as participate in the formation of the principal curriculum used in minority education.
The last five years have clearly justified the existence of the minority self-government system. The system is an efficient form of interest representation allowing broad minority participation in matters that concern them both at the local and national level. Preparations for the amendment of the Minorities Act are currently in progress. This work is directed towards ensuring that legal frameworks provide even more assistance to the operation of the self-government system as well as guaranteeing the required working conditions.
