Primary election

As humanity waits with bated breath for the results of Tuesday's elections, it is worth noting that this year 10.5 billion dollars was spent on election campaigns in the United States - from the presidential ones to county commissioners. Some 3 billion of this was for presidential elections, including the primaries.

Government-allied pollsters regularly predict a comfortable 5-7 per cent lead for the government over the united opposition. Yet op-eds in the many government-loyal media outlets reveal proper anguish, if not sometimes even outright panic, in the Fidesz ranks.

Critics say the cost of the campus would be higher than what the government spends each year on running all of the country's state-run universities. The contract is also classified, just like the other big Chinese project in Hungary, the construction of a new Belgrade-Budapest railway.

Marki-Zay, or MZP as he's known more colloquially, was polling so poorly before the first round of the primaries on September 18-28 that it seemed highly unlikely he would be among the top three candidates to make it through to the second and final round held on October 10-16. But then he did, with only 21 per cent of the vote.

Peter Marki-Zay, the conservative mayor of Hodmezovasarhely and leader of the joint opposition. Photo: Facebook

Ljubljana – The National Assembly passed in a 47:43 vote on Thursday a coalition-sponsored bill to increase funds for private primary schools to implement two Constitutional Court rulings. Wednesday’s debate proved just as partisan as several previous attempts to regulate the funding of private primaries, and one party could seek a referendum.

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Ahead of the tight electoral schedule for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, which will be held on June 24, political parties are ready to declare and register their presidential candidates.

Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon picked up new backing on Feb. 23 in the rollercoaster French presidential race, as the nation's left aims to forge a united front with polls just months away.

Environmentalist Yannick Jadot dropped out and threw his support behind Hamon, while Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon said he was "open to discussion."

Marine Le Pen has overtaken French presidential favourite François Fillon to become the frontrunner in the latest first round election poll.

The Front National leader is now polling at 26.5 per cent, a lead of 1.5 per cent over former Conservative Prime Minister Fillon.

French President Francois Hollande dramatically announced Dec. 1 he would not seek re-election next April at the end of his five-year term as he bowed to historic low approval ratings.

The withdrawal means the 62-year-old Socialist will be the first president of France's fifth republic, founded in 1958, to quit after just one term.