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Hungary was heading for a record turnout on Sunday in a bitterly contested election that could bring an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16-year hold on power and reverberate across Europe.
The high participation followed a bitter, polarised campaign that has energised both government loyalists and a newly consolidated opposition behind Péter Magyar, a former insider who has become the first serious challenger to Orbán in years.
Orbán, the European leader who is closest to both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been facing growing disquiet within Hungary over alleged government corruption, mismanagement of public services and rising living costs.
Magyar must not only win but do so decisively to overcome an electoral system tilted towards Orbán’s Fidesz party, with analysts estimating a margin of at least 5 to 6 percentage points to secure a simple parliamentary majority.
According to independent polls, Magyar’s Tisza (Respect and Freedom) party held a double-digit lead over Fidesz. Government-aligned pollsters claimed a small lead for Orbán’s party.
By 11am local time, five hours after polls opened, 38 per cent of voters had cast their ballots, the election commission said. The turnout was well above the previous record of 30 per cent at this point in a vote since the end of communism in 1990 and the start of free elections the same year.
Magyar and Orbán cast their ballots and spoke to the media at precisely the same time at 8am, with the opposition leader calling participation rates “very encouraging”. “Hungarians feel the weight of this election,” Magyar said. “Hungary’s fate will be decided today, for a long time to come.”
Under Orbán, the central European nation has plummeted within the EU in economic performance and freedom indicators, with endemic corruption that Transparency International described as “state capture” by Orbán’s elite.
Budapest has also become closely aligned with Moscow and Washington as they have sought to challenge European unity. Orbán has also undermined efforts to support Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion, with Hungary recently holding up €90bn in vital EU funding for Kyiv.
Magyar has said he will reset international relations and challenge Russia’s growing influence over Hungary.
As he cast his vote, Magyar framed the choice for voters as between “east or west, propaganda or honest talk, corruption or clean public life, continued decline of public services or tapping EU funds and an economic restart”.
At the same time, a few blocks away in the same Budapest neighbourhood, Orbán cast his ballot and told journalists he would respect the result of the vote, whatever it may be. “We have a constitution. That sets out what we have to do,” he said. “We must respect the will of the voters.”
The comments come amid widespread speculation that Orbán, who has been in the front line of politics since the overthrow of communism, may attempt to disrupt the electoral process.
Magyar claimed to have “specific knowledge” of plans to disrupt the election and void the vote count. “Election fraud is a serious crime,” he said. “If this election proceeds cleanly, Tisza, and with it Hungary, will win.”
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