With Tiszta lappal, Zebegényért submitted an independent representative’s motion on the self-dissolution of the representative body, it says on the social media page of the representatives. As they write, as elected representatives, they had to choose between two bad options: either continue the windmill fight, documenting operational irregularities and opaque village management practices, or declare self-dissolution.
Local government representative Péter Hajnal told our newspaper that their motion will be discussed at next week’s board meeting, if the mayor does not try to put it on the agenda. He said that this had already happened before with other representatives’ proposals, but if it happened again, it would be a big scandal.
According to Hajnal, the board could work together, but the mayor’s dictatorial methods and one-man management do not allow this. The representatives list a number of specific reasons a in a community post from opaque investments and hidden costs to unsubstantiated budgets and missed renovations to the impossibility of board work. According to them, these all show that the current board should dissolve itself.
In order for a representative body to dissolve itself, a yes vote of more than half of the local government representatives is required. Together with the mayor in the Zebegény board they sit seveneveryone ran as an independent in the 2024 municipal election. According to Hajnal, the decision will require a qualified majority. He admitted that the overwhelming electoral success of the opposition played a role in their initiative, and he considered it conceivable that a wave will sweep through the country’s settlements in a similar situation.
We contacted the mayor of Zebegény, Ernő Ferenczy, who won his seat as an independent with the support of Fidesz. He recently drew the attention of the press to the settlement by saying that banned Halloween pumpkin carvingbecause according to him “death pumpkins are alien to Zebegény’s spirituality”. The mayor has not yet responded to our inquiry.
If the Zebegény board votes to dissolve itself, a new election must be held within 120 days. Until the new election, the current board and the mayor will perform the tasks as administrators. The cost of the interim election due to self-dissolution is borne by the municipality.
The initiators estimate this sum at HUF 3 million, but according to them, this is insignificant compared to what the municipality has paid out in recent years due to avoidable enforcement fees and fines.
According to our information, at least one municipality in the Zebegény area is considering a similar step, hoping that in the current political mood it will be possible to get rid of the local leadership linked to Fidesz.
