LIVE Hungarian election results shortly after the polls closed. Two pre-election polls suggest a victory for Péter Magyar, but Viktor Orbán's party says he will have a majority

Hungarians voted in large numbers on Sunday in an election crucial to the country's future. There is no traditional exit poll, but the latest pre-election polls that emerged after polls closed point to a victory for the opposition led by Péter Magyar, according to Reuters and Telex.hu. The first official partial results will start to appear from 20:00 local time, that is, 21:00 Romanian time.

Fidesz believes it will have a majority

Viktor Orbán's chief of staff says citizens must trust that the prime minister's Fidesz party will get a majority.

The record turnout in Sunday's election is the result of a huge mobilization effort by the ruling party, and voting was conducted under democratic conditions, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's chief of staff told a news conference.

“We are glad that the next parliament will benefit from this strong democratic mandate,” Gergely Gulyas said, adding that he was confident that Fidesz would get a majority.

Two major polls predict a victory for Peter Magyar

Two pre-election polls show that the opposition party Tisza could win the election.

Attention, these are not exit polls.

Tisza was supported by 55 percent of voters, compared to 38 percent for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's ruling Fidesz party, according to a final poll by pollster 21 Research Center in the days leading up to Sunday's election.

According to the poll published by the Telex.hu news site, Tisza was expected to win 132 seats in the 199-seat Hungarian parliament.

Mi Hazank 5% (Our Fatherland), from the extreme right, would have 5%.

According to another poll conducted by the Median Institute in the days leading up to Sunday's election, Tisza would win 135 seats in the 199-seat Hungarian parliament.

According to the survey announced by the RTL Klub television station and conducted between April 7 and 11, the far-right party Mi Hazank (Our Fatherland) would not exceed the 5% electoral threshold needed to enter parliament.

Importantly, the polls are relevant, but Hungary's complicated electoral system makes the numbers difficult to translate into mandates.

Historical presence

The polls closed on Sunday evening in Hungary at the end of a tense parliamentary election in which the Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces the Tisza group of the opposition Péter Magyar.

Hungarian citizens voted in impressive numbers: the data indicated a record turnout – over 77.8% of voters voted by 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Romanian time) – the highest turnout since 1990.

The first results of the elections in Hungary will begin to appear from 20:00 local time, that is, 21:00 Romanian time, when they will be announced by the National Electoral Bureau, writes the HVG publication. Results will be updated every ten minutes.

The vote counting commissions first count the votes cast for individual candidates (from constituencies), followed by the votes on the national party lists and then the votes cast for the lists of minority candidates.

Suspense to the end

Polls predicted the election could end Prime Minister Orbán's 16-year rule, an outcome that could unsettle Russia and send shockwaves through right-wing circles in the West, including the White House.

Despite Tisza's lead in the polls, analysts warn that the outcome remains uncertain, given that many voters were undecided until the end, that the electoral map was redrawn in favor of the Fidesz party and that there is a large proportion of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries who overwhelmingly support the ruling party.

A eurosceptic nationalist who created a model of “illiberal democracy” held up as an example by Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and its admirers in Europe, Orbán managed to maintain control of the country for four terms.

But many Hungarians, Reuters writes, now appear to have had enough of the prime minister after three years of economic stagnation and amid worryingly rising cost of living, bad news for the country, which has been compounded by allegations of government corruption.

Last messages

Magyar said Hungarians would write history by choosing “between East and West” and urged voters to flag any irregularities.

“Electoral fraud is a very serious crime,” he added.

He expressed confidence in the result, saying the only question was whether Tisza would get a simple majority or a two-thirds majority in the 199-seat parliament, meaning one that would allow him to amend Hungary's constitution.

“Today will go down in Hungary's history books,” he wrote. “We are living the last hours of Orban's power,” Magyar wrote

Orbán also told reporters: “In Hungary there is a constitution and it must be respected. The people's decision must be respected.”

He later wrote an appeal to voters on social media.

“A lot of people are voting. This means only one thing: if we want to defend Hungary's security, no patriot can stay at home! Only Fidesz! To the fight, to victory!”

Change or continuity

Orbán said the vote represented a choice between “war and peace”. During the election campaign, the government blanketed the country with posters warning that Tisza's Magyar leader would draw Hungary into Russia's war with Ukraine, which he strongly denies.

Magyar promised a major change from the current system, relying on the fight against corruption, democracy and promises to improve public services, education and health.

The vote is being watched closely in Brussels, with many EU colleagues criticizing Orban, who has maintained close ties to Russia, for what they call an erosion of democracy, press freedom and minority rights in Hungary.

An Orbán defeat would deprive Russia of its closest EU ally, while for Ukraine it could mean unlocking a €90bn EU loan vital to its war effort, which the Hungarian leader has so far blocked.

Russia ties, support from Trump

Orbán has won the support of the Trump administration, which culminated in a visit to Budapest by Vice President JD Vance last week, as well as that of the Kremlin and far-right leaders in Europe.

But his campaign has been rocked by media reports that his government has colluded with Moscow.

Meanwhile, former Fidesz member Magyar has tapped into discontent over alleged state corruption and falling living standards, banking on young voters eager for change.