{"id":48902,"date":"2026-04-12T21:17:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=48902"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:17:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:17:03","slug":"viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-as-opposition-wins-hungarian-election-hungary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=48902","title":{"rendered":"Viktor Orb\u00e1n concedes defeat as opposition wins Hungarian election | Hungary"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Hungary\u2019s opposition Tisza party, led by P\u00e9ter Magyar, has won the general election, ending leader Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s 16-year grip on power, in a result that is likely to rattle the White House and reshape the country\u2019s relationship with the EU.<\/p>\n

Less than three hours after polls closed on Sunday, Orb\u00e1n conceded defeat after what he described as a \u201cpainful\u201d election result.<\/p>\n

\u201cI congratulated the victorious party,\u201d Orb\u00e1n told supporters in Budapest. \u201cWe are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty minutes before polls were set to close, a record 77.8% of the country\u2019s voters \u2013 some seven percentage points above the previous 2002 record \u2013 had turned up at polling stations across the central European country. Throughout the hard-fought campaign Orb\u00e1n and his rightwing populist government had consistently trailed in the polls, suggesting the election could bring an end to his efforts to transform Hungary<\/a> into an \u201cilliberal democracy\u201d and reshape the country\u2019s relations with the EU, Moscow and Washington.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>People celebrate in the streets after the announcement of partial results of the Hungarian parliamentary election in Budapest.<\/span> Photograph: D\u00e9nes Erd\u0151s\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With 72% of the vote counted, results projected a win of 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament for the main opposition party, Tisza, led by Magyar, , a former member of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s Fidesz party who broke ranks with it in 2024.<\/p>\n

The election was being closely watched in countries around the world, with many viewing it as a test of the resilience of the Maga movement and the global far right, many of whom have long cited<\/a> Orb\u00e1n as an inspiration and sought to follow his playbook.<\/p>\n

As Orb\u00e1n trailed in the polls, rightwing leaders from around the globe scrambled to rally behind him. JD Vance last week turned up<\/a> in Budapest for a two-day visit, with the US vice-president telling reporters that he had travelled to the capital to \u201chelp\u201d Orb\u00e1n win. Donald Trump had also repeatedly endorsed Orb\u00e1n, most recently on Friday when he posted: \u201cI AM WITH HIM ALL THE WAY!\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, leaders including Italy\u2019s Giorgia Meloni and Israel\u2019s Benjamin Netanyahu also made it clear they were backing Orb\u00e1n<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, Orb\u00e1n \u2013 the EU\u2019s longest-serving leader \u2013 had sought to turn Hungary into a vanguard of illiberalism, with the aim, he said, of defending traditional Christian family values against what he saw as an onslaught of western liberalism and multiculturalism.<\/p>\n

His rightwing populist government used its time in office to steadily whittle away at the checks and balances that constrained its power: rewriting election laws to its own benefit, manoeuvring to put loyalists in control of an estimated 80% of the country\u2019s media, and retooling the country\u2019s judiciary.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of people last summer took to the streets of Budapest in defiance of the government\u2019s efforts to ban Pride and other events involving the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

The election has played out on both the global and domestic stages, as Orb\u00e1n sought to convince voters Hungary risked being swept up in war in Ukraine,while Magyar focused on domestic issues with pledges to crack down on corruption, repair Orb\u00e1n\u2019s antagonistic relationship with the EU and funnel funds into the country\u2019s crumbling public services.<\/p>\n

Both candidate stayed on message as they cast their ballots on Sunday morning. Magyar called on Hungarians to vote in a \u201cdecisive election\u201d, later insisting that \u201ctonight the nightmare we have been living these past years will come to an end\u201d.<\/p>\n

Orb\u00e1n reiterated his warnings of a \u201cmajor crisis\u201d awaiting Europe<\/a> and suggested his government was the safest pair of hands to handle turbulent times. \u201cFortunately we have a lot of friends in the world. From America to China to Russia and the Turkish world,\u201d he told reporters after casting his ballot on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The campaign said his government\u2019s ties to Moscow come under scrutiny after leaked audio and transcripts alleged that Orb\u00e1n had told<\/a> Vladimir Putin, \u201cI am at your service\u201d, and that a minister had shared confidential EU information<\/a> with the Russian government. Orb\u00e1n\u2019s government cited the leaks as evidence of foreign interference.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>One poll suggested that as many as 65% of voters under the age of 30 were planning to cast their vote against Orb\u00e1n.<\/span> Photograph: D\u00e9nes Erd\u0151s\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among those who had mobilised in large numbers against Orb\u00e1n and Fidesz were young people \u2013 many of whom had come of age as the country plunged in press freedom rankings<\/a>, was accused of being an \u201celectoral autocracy\u201d, and became the most corrupt country in the EU<\/a>. One poll<\/a> suggested that as many as 65% of voters under the age of 30 were planning to cast their vote against Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Guardian, several students said their future hinged on the outcome of the elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very afraid that Hungary will leave the European Union<\/a>,\u201d said Blanka, 21, in Budapest. \u201cIf things don\u2019t change, I will probably move out, and I think a lot of my friends think the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the lead-up to Sunday\u2019s vote, analysts pointed to three possible outcomes of the election: a Magyar majority that Orb\u00e1n accepts, a Magyar majority that Orb\u00e1n does not accept, or an Orb\u00e1n majority.<\/p>\n

Even if Magyar succeeded in taking power, many were expecting change to come slowly. During Fidesz\u2019s 16 years in power, the party stacked the Hungarian state, media and judiciary with loyalists; how they respond to a change in government remains up in the air.<\/p>\n

There was also the question of whether Magyar could win a simple majority or a super-majority \u2013 meaning a win of least two-thirds of the 199 seats in Hungary\u2019s parliament. A super-majority would allow Magyar and his party to amend the constitution and laws, allowing them to reverse some of the changes made by Orb\u00e1n and Fidesz and potentially unlock EU funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that, even if we change governments, the next four to eight years are going to be hard because they just absolutely took the country to shit. There\u2019s no other way to say it,\u201d said Betti, 24, in Budapest. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard, but it\u2019s probably still going to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Hungary\u2019s opposition Tisza party, led by P\u00e9ter Magyar, has won the general election, ending leader Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s 16-year grip on power, in a result that is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}