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Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister\u00a0Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u00a0after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favor of\u00a0a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with global repercussions.<\/p>\n
Election victor P\u00e9ter Magyar, a former Orb\u00e1n loyalist who campaigned against corruption and on everyday issues like health care and public transport, has pledged to rebuild Hungary\u2019s relationships with the European Union and NATO \u2014 ties that frayed under Orb\u00e1n. European leaders quickly congratulated Magyar.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not yet clear whether Magyar\u2019s Tisza party will have the two-thirds majority in parliament to govern without a coalition. With 77% of the vote counted, it had more than 53% support to 38% for Orb\u00e1n\u2019s governing Fidesz party.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a stunning blow for Orb\u00e1n, a close ally of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orb\u00e1n conceded defeat after what he called a\u00a0\u2033painful\u2033 election result.<\/p>\n
\u201cI congratulated the victorious party,\u2033 Orban told followers. \u201cWe are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition,\u2033 he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2019Thank you, Hungary!\u201d Magyar posted on X, as thousands of his supporters thronged the banks of the Danube in Budapest, chanting \u201cWe got it! We did it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Orb\u00e1n, the EU\u2019s 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\u00a0Russia-friendly nationalist admired today\u00a0by the global far-right.<\/p>\n
Voters showed up in droves<\/p>\n
Turnout by 6:30 p.m. was over 77%, according to the National Election Office, a record number in any election in Hungary\u2019s post-Communist history.<\/p>\n
The parties of both Orb\u00e1n and Magyar said they had received reports of electoral violations, suggesting some results could be disputed by both sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m asking our supporters and all Hungarians: Let\u2019s stay peaceful, cheerful, and if the results confirm our expectations, let\u2019s throw a big, Hungarian carnival,\u201d Magyar said.<\/p>\n
Mark Radnai, Tisza\u2019s vice president, also called for reconciliation after a tense campaign. \u201cWe can\u2019t be each other\u2019s enemies. Reach out, hug your neighbors, your relatives. It\u2019s the day of reunification.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Choice between East or West\u2019<\/p>\n
The EU will be waiting to see what Magyar does about Ukraine. Orb\u00e1n repeatedly frustrated EU efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, while cultivating close ties to Putin and refusing to end Hungary\u2019s dependence on Russian energy imports.<\/p>\n
Recent revelations have shown a top member of Orban\u2019s government frequently shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, raising accusations that Hungary was acting on Russia\u2019s behalf within the bloc.<\/p>\n
Orb\u00e1n occupied an outsized role in far-right populist politics worldwide.<\/p>\n
Members of Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d movement are among those who see Orb\u00e1n\u2019s government and his Fidesz political party as\u00a0shining examples\u00a0of conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is\u00a0reviled by advocates of liberal democracy\u00a0and the rule of law.<\/p>\n
Casting his ballot in Budapest, Marcell Mehringer, 21, said he was voting \u201cprimarily 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strained relationship with the EU<\/p>\n
During his 16 years as prime minister, Orb\u00e1n launched harsh\u00a0crackdowns on minority rights\u00a0and\u00a0media freedoms, subverted many of Hungary\u2019s institutions and been accused of siphoning large sums of money into the coffers of his allied business elite, an allegation he denies.<\/p>\n
He also heavily strained Hungary\u2019s relationship with the EU. Although Hungary is one of the smaller EU countries, with a population of 9.5 million, Orb\u00e1n has repeatedly used his veto to block decisions that require unanimity.<\/p>\n
Most recently, he\u00a0blocked a 90-billion euro ($104 billion) EU loan\u00a0to Ukraine, prompting his partners to accuse him of hijacking the critical aid.<\/p>\n
His challenger came from the inside<\/p>\n
Magyar, 45, rapidly rose to become Orb\u00e1n\u2019s most serious challenger.<\/p>\n
A former insider within Orb\u00e1n\u2019s Fidesz, Magyar broke with the party in 2024 and quickly formed Tisza. Since then, he has toured Hungary relentlessly, holding\u00a0rallies in settlements big and small\u00a0in a campaign blitz that recently had him visiting up to six towns daily.<\/p>\n
In an\u00a0interview with The Associated Press\u00a0earlier this month, Magyar said the election will be a \u201creferendum\u201d on whether Hungary continues on its drift toward Russia under Orb\u00e1n, or can retake its place among the democratic societies of Europe.<\/p>\n
Tisza is a member of the European People\u2019s Party, the mainstream, center-right political family with leaders governing 12 of the EU\u2019s 27 nations.<\/p>\n
Uphill election battle<\/p>\n
Magyar faced a tough fight. Orb\u00e1n\u2019s control of Hungary\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The unilateral transformation of Hungary\u2019s electoral system and gerrymandering of its 106 voting districts by Fidesz also will require Tisza to gain an estimated 5% more votes than Orb\u00e1n\u2019s party to achieve a simple majority.<\/p>\n
Additionally, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries had the right to vote in Hungarian elections and traditionally have voted overwhelmingly for Orb\u00e1n\u2019s party.<\/p>\n
Russian secret services have plotted to interfere and tip the election in Orb\u00e1n\u2019s favor, according to numerous media reports including by The Washington Post. The prime minister, however, has\u00a0accused neighboring Ukraine, as well as Hungary\u2019s allies in the EU, of seeking to interfere in the vote to install a \u201cpro-Ukraine\u201d government.<\/p>\n
Such accusations are part of why many in the EU see Orb\u00e1n as a danger to the bloc\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
But across the Atlantic, Trump and his MAGA movement are all-in for another Orb\u00e1n term. Trump repeatedly endorsed the Hungarian leader and U.S. Vice President JD Vance made a\u00a0two-day visit to Hungary\u00a0last week meant to help push Orb\u00e1n over the finish line.<\/p>\n
#Hungarian #voters #oust #Viktor #Orb\u00e1n #ally #Trump #Putindespite #campaign #push #Vance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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