Expat voting info event at Szimpla

The event will take place at Szimpla Kert, located at Kazinczy utca 14 in District 7 of Budapest, starting at 6 p.m. with a short presentation about the elections and issues important for Budapest. The second half of the evening will involve informal round tables about topics such as Budapest housing, tourism and nightlife in the city, sustainability, inclusive communities, local agriculture, and many others. Candidates have also been invited to join and meet their international voters.

Vote4Budapest says there are some 140,000 non-Hungarians eligible to vote in the upcoming local elections this Sunday, October 13, representing nearly 10% of the population in some Budapest districts. Organizers argue that not many of these people are aware that they are allowed to vote, and political campaigns often dedicate little of their time and energy to these potential voters. The National Election Office (NVI) is failing to provide information in English about the elections (at the time of publication).

The group started a social media campaign (VOTE - Hungarian municipal elections 2019) to inform those who do not speak Hungarian that they have the right to vote and provide them with basic info about the ongoing campaign.