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Nationalist Viktor Orban, who has ruled Hungary for 16 years, on Sunday conceded defeat to conservative Peter Magyar in parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n
With votes in almost 67 per cent of precincts counted, Magyar\u2019s party stood to have gained 137 seats, or more than two-thirds of all 199 parliamentary seats, according to official election results.<\/p>\n
The vote on Sunday was being closely watched across Europe and in the United States, with US President Donald Trump endorsing Orban, a self-described \u201cthorn\u201d in the European Union\u2019s side and a defender of \u201cilliberal democracy\u201d who is also close to \u00a0Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe election results, though not yet final, are clear and understandable; for us, they are painful but unambiguous,\u201d Orban, 62, told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have not been entrusted with the responsibility and opportunity to govern. I congratulated the winning party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Magyar, 45, a political newcomer and former government insider, posed on social media that Orban \u201cjust called to congratulate us on our victory\u201d.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Turnout in the election reached a record 77.8 percent at 6:30 pm local time (1630 GMT).<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really excited. I came to this event full of hope \u2026 I\u2019m optimistic about the change,\u201d Orsolya Rozgonyi, a 28-year-old HR manager, told AFP<\/em> amid Tisza supporters who gathered in Budapest in a festive atmosphere.<\/p>\n The atmosphere was more subdued among hundreds of Fidesz supporters who gathered near the press centre, cordoned off from the press.<\/p>\n Orban, who was seeking a fifth straight term, has transformed his country into a model of \u201cilliberal democracy\u201d, publicly clashing with Brussels over rule-of-law issues, as well as over support for war-torn Ukraine.<\/p>\n Magyar burst onto the scene just two years ago, promising to fight corruption and offering better public services, amassing support against a backdrop of economic stagnation, despite an electoral system skewed in favour of Orban\u2019s Fidesz party.<\/p>\n Both camps have alleged foreign interference during the campaign in the central European country of 9.5m people.<\/p>\n US Vice President JD Vance visited Hungary <\/a>this week to rally with Orban, attacking the alleged interference in Hungary of Brussels \u201cbureaucrats\u201d, while Trump has promised to bring US \u201ceconomic might\u201d to Hungary if Orban\u2019s party secures victory.<\/p>\n After casting his ballot, Orban repeated warnings of a \u201cmajor crisis\u201d awaiting Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately we have a lot of friends in the world. From America to China to Russia and the Turkish world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Orban has focused on making Ukraine the central topic of his campaign, portraying the neighbouring country, which is fighting off a Russian invasion, as \u201chostile\u201d to Hungary.<\/p>\n He also vowed to continue his crackdown against \u201cfake civil society organisations, bought journalists, judges (and) politicians\u201d.<\/p>\n Maria Toth, a 31-year-old stay-at-home mother of two, told AFP<\/em> at a Budapest polling station that \u201cit is so important for us that Viktor Orban stays in power\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel Hungary is under siege from so many directions and big powers like Brussels are trying to dictate how we live,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Orban\u2019s chief of staff Gergley Gulyas said earlier on Sunday that he didn\u2019t see, for now, \u201cany infringement that would put the final result in question\u201d.<\/p>\n After voting, Magyar called on voters to report suspected vote-buying, intimidation or other violations, while urging calm.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a>\u2018Full of hope\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>\u2018No infringement\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n