Hungarians have overwhelmingly rejected the EU's refugee quota plan in a referendum. However, less than 50 percent of the country's 8 million eligible voters have participated in the poll, rendering it invalid.
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Hungary's refugee referendum not valid
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Citizens in Hungary have voted in a controversial referendum to reject the European Union's plan to distribute migrants across the bloc. However, data from the National Election Office's special referendum website suggest the number of voters was less than 50 percent, invalidating the result.
According to the National Election Office, more than 98 percent of voters rejected the EU's migrant quota, while just 1.67 percent voted in favor of it.
Speaking after the results were announced, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the results needed to be taken into account by EU decision-makers.
"Thirteen years after a large majority of Hungarians voted at a referendum to join the European Union, today Hungarians made their voices heard again in a European issue," Orban told a news conference in the capital, Budapest.
"We have achieved an outstanding result, because we have surpassed the outcome of the accession referendum," he added. He said he would submit an amendment to Hungary's constitution based on the plebiscite.
'A sweeping victory'
Earlier, governing Fidesz party vice president Gergely Gulyas expressed doubts that the vote could be invalid.
However, regardless of the numbers, the result was "a sweeping victory for all those who reject the relocation plan, for those who believe that only nation states should remain and for those who believe in democracy," he said.
Opposition members protested in Budapest, holding a poster of Orban that read "What have I done again?"Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Ghirda
Before results were announced, Orban said there would be "legal consequences" regardless of the outcome of the poll. "A valid referendum is always better than an invalid one, but the legal consequences will be the same," he said. "There is only one condition for this: that there are more 'No' votes than 'Yes' votes," he added.
Opposition parties and rights groups had called on Hungarians to boycott the referendum, which was organized by Orban to whip up support against the EU's planned quota to distribute refugees across member states.
Eastern European countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, have vehemently opposed accepting migrants. Hungary has refused to accept even one of the 1,294 refugees allotted to it and has instead filed a legal case against the EU, together with Slovakia.
Refugees languish on Hungarian border
Refugees endure harsh conditions along Hungary's southern border, refusing to turn back despite increasing difficulties in reaching Western Europe. Diego Cupolo reports from Kelebija, Serbia.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Unwelcome but undeterred
On Sunday, Hungarian voters will decide whether or not their country will accept refugees relocated from EU nations in a referendum called by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Analysts predict an overwhelming ‘No’ vote, which is largely symbolic as it is unlikely to impact decisions in Brussels or reduce a persistent flow of asylum-seekers to border transit areas such as Kelebija.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
The new gates of Europe
People arrive in Kelebija to cross this gate. The Serbian and Hungarian governments worked out a deal to allow border transit for up to 20 asylum-seekers a day. After registering with Serbian officials, potential refugees receive a date to appear at the border, where they are interviewed and have their asylum applications reviewed by Hungarian migration agents.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Transit bottleneck
The process is not without faults. Mohamed Gamal, an 18-year-old Egyptian (not pictured above), arrived in Kelebija after seeing his name on a list of people to be interviewed. When he spoke with border officials, they said the appointment was for another Egyptian of the same name and that they had no records showing he entered Serbia.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Minimal assistance
Having few options, Gamal stayed in the transit camp of about 100 people who were also awaiting asylum appointments. One water spigot was available on site and few organizations visit the camp daily. People make do in the camp with minimal assistance. Pictured above is one of nine children in a Yazidi family that had been at the camp several weeks.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
24/7 patrol
"I will find another way," Gamal told DW, saying he was negotiating with smugglers onsite. He paid 1,500 euros the prior month to breach the fence, but was caught and bused back to Belgrade. Helicopters and 24/7 patrols have made illegal crossings increasingly difficult. "Believe me, if you run faster than the police, they will send the dogs on you."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
'Better Than Other Places'
The children of Walid Khaled, a car mechanic from Irbil, Iraq, play by the border fence. It’s been two months since Khaled arrived at the camp, where his family has suffered setbacks due to confusion over their immigration documents. "The police tells us 'I don’t know, I don’t know,'" he said. "Here it’s bad, but it’s better than other places."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
No turning back
Kelebija hosts one of two camps in the area. Middle Eastern refugees stay here, while Afghans and Pakistanis stay in Horgos. As he fed a campfire with donated diapers and clothing, Khaled said he preferred staying in Kelebija - despite the fact his prospects of crossing the border weren’t improving - because his family had been robbed repeatedly in other camps.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Howls from passing truckers
The next morning, southbound truckers mocked camp inhabitants by howling like monkeys into their megaphones. "In Greece, the average person, if you talk to them, displays sympathy," said Sydney Fernandez, field coordinator for North Star, a Serbian humanitarian organization. "Here, locals have the mentality that these people should have stayed home to fight for their land."
