Anti-EU Quota Referendum: 98% Vote 'No' But Turnout Invalidates Result

On October 2, 2016, Hungary held a referendum asking citizens whether the EU should be able to mandate resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens without parliamentary consent. A record 98.3% voted 'no.' However, turnout was only 44.05%, below the 50% threshold required by Hungarian law for a binding referendum result. Orbán nonetheless claimed a mandate and sought a constitutional amendment — which subsequently failed to get a two-thirds majority when far-right Jobbik voted against a slightly different text. The government spent over €40M on public 'Vote No' campaigns.