Péter Magyar's party eligible to run in June elections, Tisza Party officially registered

The National Election Committee (NVI) registered Péter Magyar's party for the 9 June EP and municipal elections on Thursday afternoon. This means that the Respect and Freedom Party (Tisztelet és Szabadság Pártja or TISZA) will be able to start collecting recommendations for its candidature on 20 April.

Péter Magyar, the ex-husband of former Justice Minister Judit Varga burst onto the political scene in Hungary in the wake of the clemency scandal in early February, which resulted in the resignation of President Katalin Novák, and his ex-wife from her post as MP and leader of Fidesz' EP list in the upcoming elections. The former Fidesz insider Magyar has since publicly criticised the government, has published a secretly recorded conversation between him and his ex-wife, alleging corruption in the government's highest echelons, and has organised anti-government protests attended by tens of thousands of people.

Magyar submitted his application to the election committee on Wednesday, which is also when it was announced that he would be standing in the June elections under the banner of the previously unknown Tisza Party. "We spoke with several parties, and we tried to find one that had a background and a programme that fits in with the programme of the community of Talpra Magyarok!

He pointed out that the name of the party also played a role in his decision.

According to Magyar, respect and freedom are sorely absent from Hungarian public life today, and the party's abbreviated name, Tisza "has a positive and joyful connotation in Hungarian culture and history".

Earlier in the week, Magyar’s party had called for applications for several positions within the movement, as well as potential candidates in the upcoming elections. "In the framework of the tender, we would like to select five gentlemen and five ladies in an open and transparent way who, based on their education and experience, are suitable and feel qualified to enter public life and represent Hungary and their fellow citizens as MEPs," Magyar said.

Magyar told Telex on Thursday that more than 500 applications had been received by the deadline of midnight on Wednesday, and that a committee of 10 members would be deciding on the candidates. He said that choosing would likely be difficult because 80 percent of the applications were of high quality and were submitted by experienced professionals who spoke foreign languages.

Péter Magyar also offered an MEP seat to Zoltán Tarr, a former pastor with the Hungarian Reformed Church, who had been fired from his job at a state company after speaking at Magyar's protest last Saturday.