Hungarian Parliament Committee advances Independent Media Board nominees

The Hungarian Parliament's Cultural Committee has moved forward with nominations for the Independent Media Board, supporting candidates proposed by professional media organizations and ruling party members while rejecting nominees from opposition factions.

The committee unanimously supported three professional nominees: György Szabó, Miklós Hargitai, and Viktor Bálint. Additionally, the committee supported candidates proposed by the ruling parties, including Beatrix Siklósi (Fidesz) and Zoltán Martí (KDNP), as well as Zoltán Moys (Mi Hazánk).

Judit Bayer, a media lawyer and researcher, has been proposed as the chairperson of the board. Other candidates supported by the Public Service Council include sociologist Miklós Sükösd and poet Árpád Kollár.

Márk Radnai noted that the rejection of opposition nominees was based on the criteria that candidates must not have been active participants in recent propaganda efforts or have questionable relationships with democratic values and human rights. He emphasized that the board must include a balance of ruling party, opposition, and professional members to prevent any single side from monopolizing public media.