Parliament to vote on leadership of new independent media oversight board

Today the Hungarian parliament will vote on the president and nine members of the Independent Media Board, a body established by the governing party to manage the new public media structure that replaces MTVA and Duna Médiaszolgáltató. The board will control ownership rights over Magyar Rádió és Televízió Nonprofit Zrt. and MTI Nonprofit Zrt., making it a key supervisory organ. Its composition is intended to include three representatives each from the governing party, the opposition and media professional organisations, though critics note the imbalance of six political delegates against three experts.

Recent weeks have seen heated debate over the professional backgrounds of the nominees, with the opposition and professional groups submitting their lists on time, while the Tisza Party missed its deadline and later proposed three candidates, including former DIVSZ secretary-general Szabó György. The cultural committee has repeatedly rejected opposition-proposed names and is now considering Bayer Judit for the board’s presidency, with Radnai Márk suggesting the board could function without opposition members.