The Clean Election campaign was initiated by four NGOs in order to curb election fraud in Hungary.
The coordinator of the campaign is the Civil College Foundation, in partnership by Political Capital, TASZ (Hungarian Civil Liberties Union), and aHang. The NGOs provide the campaign’s professional and financial support, activists and infrastructural network.
All four organizations hold as their core values democracy and citizen participation, as well as a clean political environment which can foster the former. The cornerstone of such a political arena is the exercise of universal and free suffrage in secret and unmanipulated voting. We are working to provide everyone with an opportunity to use their franchise unimpeded.
As part of the project, we have organized 20 online day-long workshops, where we trained activists about the theoretical background and practical execution of election manipulation. During the campaign, these activists raised awareness about frauds through posters, public discussions, and organized numerous local forums. They have taught people what sorts of election manipulation there are, how to recognize, avoid, and prevent them, and what to do if they catch someone in the act.
Tisztaszavazas.hu has many leaflets and detailed info sheets available to download, and in the past months the campaign has received great media attention, which helped to deliver our message to the voters.
Ten forums were organized in disadvantaged settlements with the help of CCF’s local community organizers. These helped hundreds of Roma voters – and through them, thousands of others – to understand that their ballot is only theirs, and that it cannot be sold or given away to anyone.
On election day, the legal experts from TASZ will provide assistance through a telephone hotline to anyone who suspects election fraud, and would like to take action. Our activists will be present in the most problematic boroughs, looking for signs of the most common tactics (bussing, chain voting), and will take action to prevent manipulation of the elections.
The campaign is independent, calls attention to attempts at fraud coming from any political side, and will assist the victims’ cases with no regard to their ballot.
