RFE/RL NEWSLINE 
Vol 1, No. 141, 17 October 1997

HUNGARIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REFUSES TO RULE ON NATO
REFERENDUM. The Constitutional Court on 16 October said it is not
competent to rule whether the referendum on NATO membership
can be held separately from the plebiscite on land ownership by
foreigners. The court's announcement came in response to the
government's request for clarification on the issue. Prime Minister
Gyula Horn responded by saying the referendum on NATO
memberhsip will proceed as planned on 16 November. Horn said the
governemnt would be able to obtain the two-thirds majority
necessary for the passage in the parliament of the proposal to hold
one referendum on NATO and a separate one on land ownership,
Reuters reported on 17 October.

HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES SIGN ELECTORAL PACT. The
Alliance of Young Democrats and the Christian Democratic Alliance,
set up by former members of the Christian Democratic Party, have
signed an electoral accord, Hungarian media reported on 16 October.
The agreement stipulates that the two parties will field joint
candidates in single-member constituencies in the 1998
parliamentary elections. The accord also applies to local elections.

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