Collecting Personal Data Behind Tisza Party’s Fake Referendum

A week ago, Peter Magyar launched his so-called referendum, which he is touting as a sweeping success. However, the credibility of this vote is highly questionable for several reasons. The number of people allegedly filling out the Tisza Party’s questionnaire is dubious at best, participation requires submitting personal data, and many of the questions it contains echo left-wing talking points.

Peter Magyar, Tisza Party president (Photo: Balazs Hatlaczki)

There are several irregularities surrounding Peter Magyar’s fake referendum, which he announced during his March 15 speech and officially launched on March 24. The Tisza Party chief claims that over half a million people have already completed the questionnaire. However, it is suspicious that so many would have participated within a week, especially considering that voting is only possible through paper forms at the party’s designated booths or online. Yet, these booths are frequently seen standing empty. Additionally, during his nationwide tour, Magyar usually speaks to only a few hundred—at most a couple of thousand—people, many of whom are not locals but are transported in from other areas tothese events.

The action of the Tisza Party is questionable in more ways than one (Photo: Zoltan Havran)

The credibility of the online voting process is also in question. As previously reported, Magyar launched his “System-Change Membership” program in June last year, which serves as a prerequisite for joining the Tisza Party. According to the party chief, full membership requires at least three months of Tisza group ("Island") membership and minimum three months of paid System-Change Card membership. Despite launching nearly a year ago, the initiative has failed to attract the 50,000 members Magyar initially aimed for, with the party’s website showing just over 27,000 sign-ups.

Given the lackluster level of interest in System-Change Membership, it is difficult to believe Magyar’s claim about the high number of respondents in his fake referendum.

Reports also indicate that before the Tisza Party’s March 15 event, half of the booked buses were canceled, and the actual turnout at the rally was sparse—further suggesting that there is little real interest in this so-called referendum.

Beyond doubts about the number of participants, concerns also arise over the requirement to submit personal data to take part in the vote. This raises suspicions that the referendum is merely a data collection effort for the Tisza Party.

Additionally, the nature of the questions themselves is problematic. One question proposes a two-term limit (a maximum of eight years in office) for prime ministers. However, back in 2017, the Momentum party attempted to hold a referendum on this same issue, but Hungary’s Supreme Court (Kuria) ruled that such a restriction would violate the sovereignty of Parliament’s decision-making process and require a constitutional amendment. 

It is also worth noting that apart from Momentum, Jobbik and Peter Marki-Zay - losing joint PM candidate of Hungary's unified opposition - also attempted such a proposal. So Peter Magyar is merely recycling old left-wing ideas. Similarly, his questions about reducing VAT also align with the long-standing leftist-liberal narrative.

The last question in Magyar’s referendum concerns Ukraine’s EU membership, but the relevance of this issue is highly questionable. Firstly, both Peter Magyar and his party have consistently expressed support for Ukraine. 

Notably, Tisza Party MEPs previously appeared in the European Parliament supporting the continuation of the war by wearing T-shirts featuring the Ukraine flag. Moreover, Magyar’s name appeared on an EU declaration advocating increased weapons and ammunition support for Ukraine.

Now, according to the latest poll by the Nezopont Institute, a majority of Tisza Party supporters favor Ukraine’s EU membership—further demonstrating that this referendum question is largely unnecessary.

Cover photo: Peter Magyar, Tisza Party president (Photo: Balazs Hatlaczki)