(AFP) – The challenger who could end Viktor Orban’s 16-year stretch as Hungary’s prime minister, Peter Magyar, said he was “cautiously optimistic” about victory after parliamentary elections closed Sunday. Orban — a nationalist and self-described “thorn” in the EU’s side, and a defender of “illiberal democracy” who is close to both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — trailed political newcomer Magyar in pre-election surveys.
The vote Sunday was being closely watched across Europe and in the United States. Trump threw his weight behind Orban, the European Union’s current longest-serving leader, and dispatched US Vice President JD Vance to stand alongside Orban days before the vote — though the US ambassador to the EU denied any US “meddling”. Turnout in the election reached a record 77.8 percent at 6:30 pm (1630 GMT), which analysts believed could benefit Magyar. A voter opinion survey by the Budapest-based think tank 21 Research Centre conducted this week and released after polls closed put the pro-European Tisza party of Magyar at 55 percent, ahead of Orban’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition at 38 percent. Several other surveys gave similar results. Based on the latest surveys, “along with the turnout data and the information we’ve received, we’re optimistic — or rather, cautiously optimistic,” Magyar, 45, told reporters after voting closed.
First results were expected later Sunday, but if the race was tight, the winner might not be declared until ballot counting was completely finished next Saturday, April 18, according to the National Election Office.
– ‘Full of hope’ –
“I’m really excited. I came to this event full of hope… I’m optimistic about the change,” Orsolya Rozgonyi, a 28-year-old HR manager, told AFP amid Tisza supporters who gathered in Budapest in a festive atmosphere. The atmosphere was more subdued among hundreds of Fidesz supporters who gathered near the press centre, cordoned off from the press.
Orban, 62, who was seeking a fifth straight term, has transformed his country into a model of “illiberal democracy”, publicly clashing with Brussels over rule-of-law issues, as well as over support for war-torn Ukraine. 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’s Fidesz party.
Gergely Gulyas, Orban’s chief of staff, told reporters that “on the basis of our own polls we say that the governing parties have a realistic chance of getting the necessary 100 seats to form a majority” in the 199-seat parliament. Both camps have alleged foreign interference during the campaign in the central European country of 9.5 million people. During his visit, Vance attacked the alleged interference in Hungary of Brussels “bureaucrats”, while Trump has promised to bring US “economic might” to Hungary if Orban’s party secures victory.
– ‘No infringement’ –
After casting his ballot, Orban repeated warnings of a “major crisis” awaiting Europe. “Fortunately we have a lot of friends in the world. From America to China to Russia and the Turkish world,” he said. Orban has focused on making Ukraine the central topic of his campaign, portraying the neighbouring country, which is fighting off a Russian invasion, as “hostile” to Hungary. He also vowed to continue his crackdown against “fake civil society organisations, bought journalists, judges (and) politicians”.
Maria Toth, a 31-year-old stay-at-home mother of two, told AFP at a Budapest polling station that “it is so important for us that Viktor Orban stays in power”. “I feel Hungary is under siege from so many directions and big powers like Brussels are trying to dictate how we live,” she added. “If Fidesz wins now, that will clearly mean… a shift towards authoritarianism,” Andrea Szabo, a senior research fellow at ELTE University’s Centre for Social Sciences, told AFP.
While the opposition fears Orban may not recognise the election results, Gulyas said he didn’t see, for now, “any infringement that would put the final result in question”. After voting, Magyar called on voters to report suspected vote-buying, intimidation or other violations, while urging calm.
– Peter MURPHY, Andras ROSTOVANYI
© 2024 AFP
