Hungary's opposition alliance has collected enough signatures to submit a plan for a referendum about a law on donating state-owned land to a planned Chinese university in Budapest, the leader of the opposition said on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The six-party alliance has collected 235,000 signatures, above the 200,000 threshold required for a referendum to be held, on two issues: cancelling a law that set the groundwork for China's Fudan university to establish a campus in Budapest, and extending the job seekers' benefit eligibility for 270 days.
The opposition have accused the government of cosying up to Beijing over the university plan, which they oppose.
Peter Marki-Zay, who leads the six-party opposition alliance, said the referendum plan was an important step in their efforts to oust Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government in an election on April 3.
The opposition had been hoping the referendum - which helped them mobilise their voters - could be held on the same day as the election, but it is unclear whether this is still possible. The President of Hungary sets the date for referendums.
The opposition, which united against Orban for a general election for the first time in 12 years, includes the Democratic Coalition, the Socialists, liberals and the formerly far-right but now centre-right party Jobbik.
Orban's ruling Fidesz party has pulled two percentage points ahead of the opposition alliance, according to a survey of voter intentions by think-tank IDEA Institute published earlier on Thursday.
The survey put support for the six opposition parties at 37% with long-serving nationalist Orban's Fidesz on 39%. The institute's December survey showed the two camps tied on 38%.
