NEW YORK—The Open Society Foundations condemn the vote by the Hungarian parliament today awarding Prime Minister Viktor Orban emergency powers to rule by decree indefinitely. The bill will also cancel future elections, and impose harsh restrictions on media freedoms and citizen mobility.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an exceptional challenge for governments across the globe that will demand rigorous measures from every government in order to safeguard public health and safety. This bill, however, is a blatant power grab by a would-be dictator that will rob Hungarian citizens of their democratic rights. If we needed any further evidence that Viktor Orban has authoritarian tendencies, this is it.
The Open Society Foundations urge the international community to condemn this move, and we call on the European Union to take robust action against a Member State and its leaders, who clearly continue to violate international law and threaten European citizens.
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