Hungarian Election Commission Rejects Referendum on Direct Presidential Elections

Hungary's National Election Commission has rejected a proposal to hold a national referendum on introducing direct presidential elections. The commission declared the referendum legally inadmissible, citing a historical precedent from 2015 and arguing that such a vote would strip parliament of its exclusive constitutional authority to elect the president. The decision comes as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called on President Katalin Novák to voluntarily resign from office. Under Hungary's current system, the president is elected by parliament rather than through direct popular vote, a practice the referendum sought to change.