Polling Stations Close In Hungary’s Election That Was A Key Test For Long-Time Prime Minister Orbán

Budapest: Hungarians cast ballots Sunday in what is seen as Europe’s most consequential election this year, setting a record turnout in a vote that could unseat populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, after 16 years in power.

It marks a key moment for Orbán, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has traveled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.

Initial results are expected Sunday night. The parties of both Orbán and his top challenger, Péter Magyar, said they had received reports of electoral violations, suggesting some results could be disputed by both sides.

Orbán, 62, said the campaign had been “a great national moment on our side” and thanked activists and supporters for their work. “I’m here to win,” he said.

Voters Showed Up In Droves

Turnout by 6:30 p.m. was over 77%, according to the National Election Office, a record number in any election in Hungary’s post-Communist history.

Magyar said he and his Tisza party were “cautiously confident.” He warned against any violence and called on supporters to “keep our cool.”

“I’m asking our supporters and all Hungarians: Let’s stay peaceful, cheerful, and if the results confirm our expectations, let’s throw a big, Hungarian carnival,” he said.

Thousands of Tisza supporters crowded the promenade along the right bank of the Danube River as the sun set, waving Hungarian flags and cheering. Orban’s party held a closed event, with only party members and elites and some journalists allowed.

Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said the record high turnout showed that “Hungarian democracy is extremely strong.” Gulyás said the ruling party had made numerous reports of electoral violations, but said he was “confident” Fidesz would receive the necessary 100 parliamentary seats for a majority.

‘Choice between East or West’

Orbán has repeatedly frustrated EU efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion, while cultivating close ties to President Vladimir Putin and refusing to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports.

Recent revelations have shown a top member of his government frequently shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, raising accusations that Hungary was acting on Russia’s behalf within the bloc.

The election was closely watched in countries around Europe and beyond, which is a testament to the outsize role Orbán occupies in far-right populist politics worldwide.

Members of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement are among those who see Orbán’s government and his Fidesz political party as shining examples of conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is reviled by advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law.

After casting his vote, Magyar told reporters that the election was “a choice between East or West, propaganda or honest public discourse, corruption or clean public life.”

“I urge all Hungarian citizens to exercise their right to vote,” he said.

Casting his ballot in Budapest, Marcell Mehringer, 21, said he was voting “primarily so that Hungary will finally be a so-called European country, and so that young people, and really everyone, will do their fundamental civic duty to unite this nation a bit and to break down these boundaries borne of hatred.”

Strained relationship with the EU

During his 16 years as prime minister, Orbán has launched harsh crackdowns on minority rights and media freedoms, subverted many of Hungary’s institutions and been accused of siphoning large sums of money into the coffers of his allied business elite, an allegation he denies.

He also has heavily strained Hungary’s relationship with the EU. Although Hungary is one of the smaller EU countries, with a population of 9.5 million, Orbán has repeatedly used his veto to block decisions that require unanimity.

Most recently, he blocked a 90-billion euro ($104 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, prompting his partners to accuse him of hijacking the critical aid.

Serious Challenger On The Rise

Magyar has rapidly risen to become Orbán’s most serious challenger. The 45-year-old leader of the center-right Tisza party, which is leading in independent polls, campaigned on issues affecting ordinary voters including Hungary’s faltering public health care and transportation sectors and what he describes as rampant government corruption.

A former insider within Orbán’s Fidesz, Magyar broke with the party in 2024 and quickly formed Tisza. Since then, he has toured Hungary relentlessly, holding rallies in settlements big and small in a campaign blitz that recently had him visiting up to six towns daily.

In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month, Magyar said the election will be a “referendum” on whether Hungary continues on its drift toward Russia under Orbán, or can retake its place among the democratic societies of Europe.

Tisza won 30% of the vote in European Parliament elections in 2024, and Magyar took a seat as an EU lawmaker. Tisza is a member of the European People’s Party, the mainstream, center-right political family with leaders governing 12 of the EU’s 27 nations.

Uphill Election Battle

Magyar and Tisza face a tough fight. Orbán’s control of Hungary’s public media, which he has transformed into a mouthpiece for his party, and vast swaths of the private media market give him an advantage in spreading his message.

The unilateral transformation of Hungary’s electoral system and gerrymandering of its 106 voting districts by Fidesz also will require Tisza to gain an estimated 5% more votes than Orbán’s party to achieve a simple majority.

Additionally, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries had the right to vote in Hungarian elections and traditionally have voted overwhelmingly for Orbán’s party.

Fidesz and Tisza both have launched platforms for reporting irregularities, accusing their opponents of planning to commit election abuses.

Russian secret services have plotted to interfere and tip the election in Orbán’s favor, according to numerous media reports including by The Washington Post. The prime minister, however, has accused neighboring Ukraine, as well as Hungary’s allies in the EU, of seeking to interfere in the vote to install a “pro-Ukraine” government.

Such accusations are part of why many in the EU see Orbán as a danger to the bloc’s future.

But across the Atlantic, Trump and his MAGA movement are all-in for another Orbán term. Trump has repeatedly endorsed the Hungarian leader and U.S. Vice President JD Vance made a two-day visit to Hungary last week meant to help push Orbán over the finish line.

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