Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians

Political party in Serbia

The Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians (Hungarian: Vajdasági Magyarok Demokratikus Közössége, abbr. VMDK; Serbian Cyrillic: Демократска заједница војвођанских Мађара, romanized: Demokratska zajednica vojvođanskih Mađara, abbr. DZVM) is a political party in Serbia, representing the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina.[1][2]

Established in 1990, it was first led by András Ágoston and then by Sándor Páll until his death in 2010. As of 2021[update] it is led by Áron Csonka.[3] The party's headquarters are in Bečej. It was the first party of the Hungarian minority in Serbia, and it had MPs in several compositions of the National Assembly of Serbia during the 1990s. However, the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians took the primate among Hungarian voters in 1997, and VMDK has seen only sporadic participation in the National Assembly and the Parliament of Vojvodina since. It was a part of the United for the Victory of Serbia coalition in the 2022 general election, but it did not win any seats.

History

On 19 December 1989, in the eve of multi-party system in Serbia, a group of 11 activists started an initiative for creation of an authentic organisation of Hungarians in Serbia. Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians was formed on 31 March 1990 in Doroslovo, a village in northern Vojvodina.[4] Its first leader was András Ágoston.[5] On the first post-communist parliamentary elections in Serbia held the same year, they won 2.64% of the vote, earning 8 seats in the National Assembly.[6]

Amidst the growing ethnic tensions, the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s and pressure from Serbian nationalism, the party radicalised their program and demanded a strong autonomy for Hungarians in Serbia, similar to ones sought by Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia at the time. Since the new course was perceived as too radical, several parties split from VMDK in 1994, and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians went off to become the dominant party among Serbian Hungarians. In 1997, Ágoston left the VMDK, forming the Democratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians. Sándor Páll took over as the president of VMDK, but the party has never regained its previous influence.[7]

In the 1992 parliamentary elections, the party won 2.98% of the popular vote and 9 seats in the National Assembly.[8] In the 1993 parliamentary elections, the party won 2.61% of the popular vote and 5 seats in the National Assembly.[9] In the 1997 parliamentary elections, the party won 1.5% of the popular vote, but no seats in the National Assembly. The majority of Hungarian votes went to the newly formed Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, which would remain the major Hungarian political party in Serbia to this day.[10] In the 2000 and 2003 parliamentary elections the party again failed to win any seats in the National Assembly.[11][12] In the 2008 elections, the party was part of the Hungarian Coalition, which won 4 seats in the Serbian parliament.[13] In the 2012 elections, the party was part of the All Together coalition, which won 1 seat in the Serbian parliament.[14] In the 2014 elections, the party participated on Boris Tadić's coalition list.[15] In the 2016 elections, they formed a coalition with the Hungarian Movement, but it did not participate in the state elections, opting instead only for municipal and provincial elections in Vojvodina.[16]

Participation in elections

Parliamentary elections

Year Leader Popular vote % of popular vote Number of seats Seat change Coalition Status
1990 András Ágoston 132,726 2.64%
8 / 250
 New Opposition
1992 140,825 2.98%
9 / 250
 Increase 1 Opposition
1993 112,342 2.61%
5 / 250
 Decrease 4 Opposition
1997 Sándor Páll 16,812 0.41%
0 / 250
 Decrease 5 Extra-parliamentary
2000 did not participate
0 / 250
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2003 did not participate
0 / 250
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2007 12,940 0.32%
0 / 250
 Steady 0 Hungarian Union Extra-parliamentary
2008 74,874 1,81%
0 / 250
 Steady 0 Hungarian Coalition Extra-parliamentary
2012 Áron Csonka 24,993 0.63%
0 / 250
 Steady 0 All Together Extra-parliamentary
2014 204,767 5.70
0 / 250
 Steady 0 With NDS–Z–LSV–ZZS Extra-parliamentary
2016 did not participate
0 / 250
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2020 did not participate
0 / 250
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2022 520,469 14.09%
0 / 250
 Steady 0 UZPS Extra-parliamentary

Provincial elections

In the provincial elections in Vojvodina in 2008, the party was part of the Hungarian Coalition, which won 7% of votes in the first election round.

In the provincial elections in Vojvodina in 2012, the party was part of the All Together coalition, which won 0.47% of votes in the first election round and which won no seats in the provincial parliament.

Local elections

In the local elections in Serbia in 2008, the party was part of the Hungarian Coalition, which won the majority of votes in Kanjiža (50.91%), as well as plurality of votes in Senta (31.87%), Bačka Topola (46.25%), Mali Iđoš (37.18%), and Bečej (29.63%).

In the local elections in Serbia in 2012, the party was part of the All Together coalition, which did not won the plurality of votes in any municipality in Vojvodina.

References

  1. ^ New nation-states and national minorities. Julien Danero Iglesias, Nenad Stojanović, Sharon Weinblum. Colchester. 2013. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-907301-36-0. OCLC 826685056.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ "The Hungarian minority community in Vojvodina - AJKC Digital - Antall József Knowledge Centre". digitalistudastar.ajtk.hu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Csonka Áron: Számos visszaélés történt a tavalyi szerbiai választásokon". Pannon RTV (in Hungarian). 10 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Agošton se povlači iz politike". Vajdaság Ma. 19 December 2012.
  5. ^ Robert Thomas (January 1999). Serbia Under Milošević: Politics in the 1990s. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-1-85065-341-7.
  6. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 1990". Vreme. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  7. ^ Vera Stojarová; Peter Emerson (2 October 2013). Party Politics in the Western Balkans. Routledge. pp. 142–. ISBN 978-1-135-23585-7.
  8. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 1992". Vreme. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 1993". Vreme. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 1997". Vreme. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 2000". Vreme. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 2003". Vreme. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 2008". Vreme. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Kako smo glasali: Izbori 2012". Vreme. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  15. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (11 БОРИС ТАДИЋ - Нова демократска странка - Зелени, ЛСВ - Ненад Чанак, Заједно за Србију, VMDK, Заједно за Војводину, Демократска левица Рома), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 2 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Mađarski pokret i DZVM: Mi smo alternativa SVM-u". RTS. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
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Bracketed numbers indicate number of seats in parliament
National Assembly (250)
Extra-parliamentary
Coalitions
Current
Defunct
Defunct