Hungary’s Parliament voted to grant the prime minister the power to indefinitely rule by decree, suspending major democratic processes.
The bill, passed Monday with a sufficient majority, empowers Prime Minister Victor Orban with extraordinary abilities to manage the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The provisions also remove Parliament’s power, indefinitely suspends elections, and implement penalties for journalists who spread “fake news” with up to a five-year prison sentence.
“We cannot react quickly if there are debates and lengthy legislative and lawmaking procedures. And in times of crisis and epidemic, the ability to respond rapidly can save lives,” Orban said about the government’s response on state radio last week. “The government is not asking for anything extraordinary. It is asking for the ability to rapidly enact certain measures. We don’t want to enact measures that the Government has no general right to enact — we simply want to do so swiftly.”
Human rights watchdogs have criticized the measure as an unnecessary escalation to combat the COVID-19 virus’s spread.
“This is not the way to address the very real crisis that has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said David Vig, Amnesty International’s Hungary director. “We need strong safeguards to ensure that any measures to restrict human rights adopted under the state of emergency are strictly necessary and proportional in order to protect public health.”
World leaders have also chided Orban for his newly obtained power, calling for the European Union to take action.
“I have been dreaming of a ‘United States of Europe’ for years. Precisely for this reason, I have the right, and the duty, to say that after what Orban has done today, the European Union MUST act and make him change his mind. Or, simply, expel Hungary from the Union,” Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said in a tweet.
I have been dreaming of a “United States of Europe” for years. Precisely for this reason, I have the right, and the duty, to say that after what Orban has done today, the European Union MUST act and make him change his mind. Or, simply, expel Hungary from the Union
— Matteo Renzi (@matteorenzi) March 30, 2020
More than 737,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus globally. Of those, at least 35,900 have died from complications related to the virus, and more than 156,500 coronavirus patients have recovered. The United States has seen at least 143,000 confirmed cases, with more than 2,500 associated deaths and 4,800 reported recoveries.
