A close associate of the Tisza party led by Péter Magyar announces the establishment of a new Hungarian party in Romania. UDMR reaction

The founder of a “Tisza Island” in Transylvania, an informal network of supporters of the new ruling party in Hungary, has announced the establishment of a new party in our country, the Hungarian Unity Party in Romania (RMEP), according to Budapest media. István Kátai, actor originally from Sfântu Gheorghe, announced the release on Sunday evening. The UDMR spokesman expressed hope that the new formation is not related to Tisza, the party led by Péter Magyar.

“The wait is over. RMEP has arrived. We've laid the groundwork. We're opening the doors tomorrow,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

István Kátai also announced that the formation is looking for “three founding members” and a logo for the party.

“We look forward to such fresh, creative and modern visual solutions that will dignify the beginning of a new political community and reinforce the recognizable, credible and community message of the party,” he wrote.

The party is not yet officially registered, and the procedure is ongoing, István Kátai explained to Transtelex.

István Kátai claimed that the new party does not represent a Transylvanian branch of the Tisza formation. However, a co-founder of “Tisza Island” from Oradea described the initiative as “the formation of a Hungarian party in Romania starting from the proximity of Tisza”.

On Monday, Kátai also published a program of the new formation, in which he criticizes the UDMR's policies of the last two decades, claiming that a system “built too often on loyalty, boss-subordinate relationships (…) intimidation” has emerged.

According to him, the program will be presented in several stages and will include topics such as education in the mother tongue, economic consolidation, functional autonomy, the situation of the diaspora and the fight against corruption.

Csoma Botond: “I hope Tisza has nothing to do with this initiative”

Csoma Botond, the spokesperson of the UDMR, stated to Transtelex that, for now, the formation will not comment specifically on this topic and that the only thing observed so far is that István Kátai is recruiting members.

“Given that István Kátai is the founder of Tisza Island in Transylvania, I can only hope that the Tisza Party in Hungary has nothing to do with this initiative,” said Csoma Botond.

Magyar criticized the UDMR immediately after the election

The UDMR came into Magyar's sights right after he and his party, Tisza, won Hungary's April 12 parliamentary election, securing a constitutional majority that gives him the tools to dismantle the system built by Fidesz, Orbán's party.

Magyar said in the first press conference organized after the elections that a large part of Hungarians in Romania voted with Fidesz because “they are being misled”, stating that “the same propaganda works in Romania”. He added that he would support Hungarians living in Romania “in any way possible”.

Magyar said that Hunor “also had a role”, accusing the UDMR of “participating in a campaign to misinform and mislead Hungarians in Romania”.

“I think it wasn't right,” he said, adding that he intends to talk directly with the UDMR leader: “I'm going to talk to Kelemen Hunor and tell him that I don't hold a grudge.”

Later, the future Prime Minister of Hungary Péter Magyar met with Kelemen Hunor in Budapest.

Magyar's message was conciliatory, but he also referred to Kelemen Hunor's assurances that the UDMR would no longer get involved in the political dispute in Budapest.

“We agreed with Mr. President to leave the past behind, and the Tisza government and the UDMR will work together for the survival and development of the Hungarian community in Transylvania,” Magyar wrote on Facebook.

“We received guarantees from Mr. President that, in the future, the UDMR will refrain from interfering in the political struggle of the Hungarian parties,” he continued.

“We also agreed that the irregularities found in relation to postal voting in the 2026 parliamentary elections should be investigated and that, for the future, voting rules should be revised to prevent possible electoral fraud,” Magyar added.

Kelemen Hunor strongly supported Viktor Orban

UDMR leaders strongly and consistently supported Orbán, and in the campaign, party leader Kelemen Hunor praised the Hungarian prime minister's “coherent and responsible national policy” regarding Hungarian minorities abroad.

He stated before the elections that, according to polls, over 90% of Romanian voters will vote with Fidesz.

The estimate was more or less confirmed by the official results of the foreign vote.

Investigative site Atlatszo.hu and AFP noted that in Romania, voters could also cast their votes at local UDMR headquarters or non-governmental organizations affiliated with it, a practice criticized by civil society, given UDMR's support for Fidesz.