Péter Magyar announces that Viktor Orbán has congratulated him on his victory in the Hungarian elections
Peter Magyar made the announcement after partial official results emerged confirming that Tisza, his party, had defeated Fidesz, the prime minister's party, and would have a constitutional majority.
“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated us on the victory on the phone,” opposition leader Péter Magyar wrote on Facebook late Sunday.
His message came after the emergence of partial official results that appear to confirm the victory of his party, after 16 years of rule by Viktor Orbán.
The projection after processing more than 53% of the votes shows that Tisza will have 136 seats out of 199. Fidesz would collect 56 seats.
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.
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.
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 was closely watched 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.
