HUNGARIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL
The Hungarian National Council (In Hungarian: Magyar Nemzeti Tanács – MNT) is the most important national minority self-government body for the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina. Within the frameworks regulated by the law on the national councils of national minorities, the MNT represents the Hungarian national community in Serbia in matters of language and script usage, education, information, and culture. It participates in decision-making processes, holds decision-making authority in certain matters—such as the official Hungarian names of settlements with significant Hungarian populations or finalizing proposals regarding national symbols—and can establish institutions, associations, foundations, and economic entities in areas important for preserving the national identity of the national minority. The 35-member Hungarian National Council is elected every four years and comprises a total of 5 committees: the Executive Committee, the Cultural Committee, the Language Usage Committee, the Educational Committee, and the Information Committee. In addition to the president and vice president of the national council, each committee is led by its respective chairperson. The Hungarian National Council is the founder or co-founder of all key cultural, educational, and communication institutions of the Hungarian community in Vojvodina and supports the most significant and widely attended events of the community. The current, directly elected, fourth Hungarian National Council was elected on November 13, 2022, and its president is Árpád Fremond.
law: The Federal House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopted the law on the protection of the rights and freedoms of national minorities on February 26, 2002. According to this law, the state may, along with providing the necessary financial frameworks, transfer public authority powers to the national councils of minorities living within the state’s territory. Under the provisions of the law, both state and provincial and municipal bodies are required to seek the opinion of national councils before making decisions related to language use, education, information, and culture. After the peaceful dissolution of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, the Serbian House of Representatives adopted the law on national councils of national minorities, which is still in effect today, on August 31, 2009. This law regulates the establishment, operation, and election of national councils more comprehensively than previous legislation. According to this law, national councils can decide whether their members are elected through direct or electoral elections. Since the adoption of this law, the Hungarian National Council has been elected through direct voting by the Hungarian community in Vojvodina. This requires an electoral register where more than 50% of the minority’s total population, reduced by 20% according to the last census, are listed.
35-member: According to the law on national councils of national minorities, national councils can have a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 35 members. Based on the most recent census data, for national minorities with a population of fewer than 10,000 or those not separately listed, the national council consists of 15 members. If the national minority has a population of between 10,000 and 20,000 according to the latest census data, the national council has 19 members. If the national minority has a population of between 20,000 and 50,000, the national council has 23 members. National minorities with a population between 50,000 and 100,000 have national councils with 29 members. National councils of minorities with populations exceeding 100,000 have 35 members. Accordingly, based on the 2002 census data, the Serbian Hungarian community, with a population of 293,299; the 2011 census data, with a population of 253,899; and the 2022 census data, with a population of 184,442, have a national council consisting of 35 members.
fourth: The institution of the Hungarian National Council has a history of more than two decades. The first Hungarian National Council was elected through electoral elections on September 21, 2002, shortly after the adoption of the law on the protection of the rights and freedoms of national minorities on February 26, 2002. The inaugural session took place a few weeks later, on October 19, 2002, with László Józsa being elected as president, a position he held until 2010. From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Tamás Korhecz Jr. succeeded Józsa as the president of the now directly elected Hungarian National Council. From 2014 to 2022, the minority self-government body of the Hungarians in Vojvodina operated under the leadership of Jenő Hajnal. The predecessor of the Hungarian National Council is considered to be the Provisional Hungarian National Council, which was established on August 20, 1999, in Subotica during the late Slobodan Milošević’s rule, without any legal framework or state authorization.