Hungarian Prime Minister Orban admits defeat in the European electoral earthquake

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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in power, rejecting authoritarian policies and the global far-right movement he embodied in favor of a pro-European rival in a surprise election result with global ramifications.

The election winner, Peter Magyar, a former Orban loyalist who campaigned against corruption and on everyday issues such as health care and public transport, pledged to rebuild Hungary’s relations with the European Union and NATO, which had deteriorated under Orban. European leaders quickly congratulated the Hungarians.

His victory was expected to transform political dynamics within the European Union, as Orban has turned the bloc upside down by repeatedly vetoing key decisions, raising fears that he is seeking to dismantle it from within.

It will also resonate among far-right movements around the world, which have looked to Orban as a beacon for how to use nationalist populism to wage culture wars and leverage state power to undermine opponents.

It is not yet clear whether the Hungarian-led Tisza party will obtain a two-thirds majority in parliament, which would give it the numbers needed to make major changes to legislation. After 93% of the votes were counted, the party received more than 53% of support compared to 37% for Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party, and it appeared that it would win 94 of the 106 voting regions in Hungary.

This was a stunning blow to Orban – a close ally of both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin – who admitted defeat after what he described as a “painful” election result.

Orbán told his followers: “I have congratulated the victorious party. We will serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from the opposition.”

In a speech to thousands of cheering supporters at a victory party along the Danube, Magyar said his voters had rewritten Hungarian history.

“Tonight, truth triumphed over lies,” he said. “Today, we won because Hungarians did not ask what their homeland could do for them – they asked what they could do for their homeland. I found the answer. I followed through until the end.”

Turnout in the election was nearly 80%, according to the National Electoral Office, a record high for any election in Hungary’s post-communist history.

“Choice between East or West”

Orban, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest opponents, has come a long way from his early days as an anti-Soviet liberal leader to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far right.

The European Union will wait to see how Hungary changes its approach to Ukraine. Orban has repeatedly thwarted European Union efforts to support the neighboring country in its fight against an all-out Russian invasion, while cultivating close ties with Putin and refusing to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy imports.

Recent revelations showed that a senior member of Orban’s government repeatedly shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, sparking accusations that Hungary was acting on behalf of Russia within the bloc.

Members of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement are among those who view Orbán’s government and his political party Fidesz as shining examples of conservative anti-globalization policies in action, while Orbán is insulted by advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law.

In Budapest, Marcel Mehringer, 21, said he was voting “primarily so that Hungary can finally become a European country, and so that young people, and everyone really, can do their basic civic duty to unite this nation a little bit and break down these hate-borne borders.”

The relationship is tense with the European Union

During his 16 years as prime minister, Orban launched harsh crackdowns on minority rights and media freedoms, sabotaged numerous institutions in Hungary, and was accused of embezzling large sums of money into the coffers of the business elite allied with him, an accusation that Orban denies.

It also led to severe tension in Hungary’s relationship with the European Union. Although Hungary is one of the smallest countries in the European Union, with a population of 9.5 million, Orban has repeatedly used his veto power to block decisions that require unanimity.

Most recently, he blocked a €90 billion ($104 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, prompting his associates to accuse him of hijacking vital aid.

His competitor came from within

Magyar, 45, quickly rose to become Orban’s most dangerous rival.

Magyar, a former insider of Orbán’s Fidesz party, broke away from the party in 2024 and quickly formed TESA. Since then, he has toured Hungary relentlessly, holding rallies in settlements large and small in a blitzkrieg election campaign that saw him visit up to six towns a day.

In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month, Magyar said the election would serve as a “referendum” on whether Hungary would continue its drift toward Russia under Orban, or be able to regain its place among Europe’s democratic societies.

Tessa is a member of the European People’s Party, the dominant center-right political family whose leaders govern 12 of the 27 EU countries.

An uphill electoral battle

The Hungarians faced a difficult battle. Orbán’s control over Hungary’s public media, which he has turned into his party’s mouthpiece, and large swaths of the private media market, give him an advantage in spreading his message.

The unilateral transformation of Hungary’s electoral system and the manipulation of its 106 voting districts by Fidesz would also require Tisza to receive an estimated 5% more votes than Orbán’s party to achieve a simple majority.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries had the right to vote in Hungarian elections, and they traditionally voted overwhelmingly for Orbán’s party.

Russian intelligence services planned to intervene and tip the election in Orban’s favor, according to numerous media reports including The Washington Post. However, the Prime Minister accused neighboring Ukraine, as well as Hungary’s allies in the European Union, of seeking to interfere in the vote to install a “pro-Ukrainian” government.

Such accusations are part of the reason why many in the European Union view Orban as a danger to the bloc’s future.

But on the other side of the Atlantic, Trump and his MAGA movement were poised for another Orbán term. Trump has repeatedly endorsed the Hungarian leader, and US Vice President J.D. Vance made a two-day visit to Hungary last week aimed at helping push Orban over the finish line.

Associated Press journalists Bela Shandelski, Marko Drobnijakovic and Ivan L. Nagy and Florent Bajrami in Budapest, Hungary.

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