Last week, human rights advocates in Hungary staged an attempt to invalidate the LGBTQ+ referendum pushed by current prime minister Viktor Orbán. The human rights groups are asking Hungarian citizens to cast invalid votes at the referendum to prevent the proposal from reaching the required quorum. Any proposal in Hungary is deemed invalid if less than 50% of the total electorate casts a valid vote. By trying to invalidate the referendum rather than voting normally, rights groups have figured out how to nonviolently express their belief that a rights-based referendum is inherently discriminatory and inhumane.

“This discriminating propaganda referendum … only further strengthens the division in society and increases prejudices against LGBTQ people,” said Luca Dudit, a spokesperson for Hungary rights group Hatter Tarsasag.

The referendum regarding LGBTQ+ issues will take place on April 3^rd, the same day as Hungary’s national election. Critics have accused Orbán, who is battling to secure his fourth consecutive term as P.M. since 2010, of using the LGBTQ+ referendum as a method of garnering support from his far-right and socially conservative coalition ahead of the national election. By forcing a referendum on LGBTQ+ issues, Prime Minister Orbán has opened the door for an increase in homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry.

“We are united and therefore we will also win the referendum with which we will stop at our borders the gender madness sweeping across the Western world,” Orbán said at a re-election campaign March 15^th.

This stance is a direct affront to the Hungarian LGBTQ+ community and should not be tolerated. Human rights should not be put up for a vote.

Orbán’s opponents are an alliance of six opposition parties headed by Péter Márki-Zay. While Márki-Zay has personally described himself as socially conservative and economically liberal, he has also promised to support Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community if elected. These promises include legalizing same-sex marriage, striking down the LGBTQ+ propaganda law, and removing the law banning the legal recognition of trans individuals in Hungary.

Orbán, meanwhile, has remained firm on his supposed “promotion of social values that safeguard Christian values against Western liberalism.”

Preliminary results from the day of the election show that Orbán is likely to easily win his re-election, even with the competition generated by the Márki-Zay coalition. With Orbán’s re-election comes a high likelihood of future legal attacks against the LBGTQ+ community. Hungarian activists will need to remain vigilant and re-double their efforts to gain rights for LGBTQ+ youth and adults.

LGBTQ+ individuals deserve the same freedoms as their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts. The potential continuation of Orbán’s tenure as Prime Minister is incredibly concerning, especially for the Hungarian LGBTQ+ community. Advocacy and human rights groups based outside the country should lend resources and logistical support to Hungarian activists in anticipation for a wave of homophobia and hate crimes.