Prime Minister Viktor Orban is facing the most serious threat to his power in decades
Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar has denied reports that his supporters will instigate riots if he loses to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as turnout in the most consequential European election of the year passed a record 66% on Sunday afternoon.
Magyar, whose Tisza party is challenging Orban’s ruling Fidesz alliance, wrote off reports of planned riots as “scare stories and lies.” Earlier in the day, a former Tisza party adviser released a document alleging that Magyar’s EU backers were urging him to declare victory prematurely, and start street-level violence modeled on the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine if the result doesn’t go his way.
Magyar has dominated pre-election polling, after campaigning on corruption, public services, and restoring ties with the EU. The vote will determine not only who will govern Hungary, but also how far Budapest resists policy proposals coming from Brussels.
Orban has spent years frustrating the EU with his stance on Russia, sanctions, and military support for Ukraine, making this election a closely watched test for Brussels as well as for Orban’s allies on the international right. Ukraine is also watching – and allegedly interfering in – the vote, as Orban is currently vetoing the EU’s planned €90 billion loan package for Kiev.
Data from Hungary’s National Election Office showed that 66.01% of the Hungarian electorate had cast their ballots by 3:00 PM. By this time in 2022, turnout had just surpassed 52%.
Independent polling summarized by AP suggests Tisza entered election day with momentum, though the race is still expected to be tight because of Fidesz’s entrenched rural support and the advantages Orban enjoys from incumbency and Hungary’s electoral system.
Casting his ballot, Orban told reporters he is “here to win,” while Magyar insisted “no one can seriously think that Tisza, and thus Hungary, will not win the election.”
The election is taking place on a single day for all 199 seats in Hungary’s National Assembly, with results expected to start coming in after polls close at 7:00 PM.
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