Former opposition leader Peter Magyar has declared a landslide victory in the pivotal Hungarian elections, ousting prime minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in power.
Magyar’s Tisza party are projected to have won 137 seats for a crucial two-thirds majority in the 199-member parliament, defeating Orban’s Fidesz party.
“We have done it, Tisza and Hungary have won this election,” Magyar told cheering thousands of supporters along the embankment by the river Danube. “In the history of democratic Hungary, this many people have never voted before, and no single party has ever received such a strong mandate as Tisza.”
Mr Magyar said on Facebook that Orban phoned him to congratulate the party on winning the election.
Voting booths closed in Hungary at 7pm local time (6pm BST) after around 77.8 per cent of of the Hungarian electorate cast their ballots, smashing the previous record of 70.5 per cent in 2002.
Earlier in the day, accusations of voter fraud were launched by both sides. But Orban’s team in the nationalist Fidesz party said it will respect the results of the election, and the prime minister has not spoken on the accusations since results started coming in.
Orban, a staunch ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has drawn widespread criticism across Europe for his support for the invasion of Ukraine.
‘Winter is coming’, says US Democrat
US Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, who is the House of Representatives Minority Leader, has posted an ominous warning to his domestic political opponents following Orban’s electoral loss.
“Far-right authoritarian Viktor Orban has lost the election,” he writes.
“Trump sycophants and MAGA extremists in Congress are up next in November,” he adds, referring to the November mid-term elections.
In what sounds like a homage to HBO’s Game of Thrones, Jeffries adds: “Winter is coming.”
Zelensky congratulates Magyar and calls for ‘constructive work’ in Europe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition pro-EU Tisza party, on his victory in the Hungarian election and pledged to work with him to strengthen Europe and uphold peace and security.
“It is important when a constructive approach is victorious,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
“We are ready to meet and for joint constructive work for the benefit of both our peoples and also for the sake of peace, security and stability in Europe.”
Who is Péter Magyar?
Péter Magyar, 45 years old, is a lawyer turned politician and comes from a political family with deep political connections, including his great uncle Ferenc Mádl, a former president of Hungary.
He went to an elite Catholic boys’ high school near the centre of Budapest, then went on to study law at a Catholic university in the capital.
In 2006, he married former Fidesz party justice minister Judit Varga, and the pair have three sons. The couple divorced in March 2023.
Magyar’s rise to prominence
Maygar first joined the Fidesz party while he was still in college. He also eventually became closely tied to the party’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyás.
He met his wife, Judit Varga, in 2005, who at the time was a rising star within the Fidesz party, and married her in 2006.
Ms Varga eventually became justice minister in 2019.
However, in 2024, he broke with the party after a scandal emerged, involving his wife, over the pardoning of a man who had helped cover up the crimes of a notorious paedophile by the Fidesz government.
Maygar released a secret recording of his wife, which allegedly captured her describing the government’s interference in the case.
In 2024, Magyar joined the little-known Tizsa party to contest the European Parliament elections and won 29 per cent of the vote last June. Under his leadership, the party adopted the slogan “Now or never!”
Peter Magyar declares election victory
Tisza leader Peter Magyar has proclaimed victory at an election rally following Viktor Orban’s concession speech.
“We did it,” says Magyar. “We have reclaimed our country.
“We have won an unprecedented mandate.”
With 92 per cent of the votes counted, Tisza is on track to win 138 seats out of 199 in parliament.
He told a crowd of supporters that the transition to a new government would be “peaceful and smooth” due to a strong mandate.
He thanks the 3.3 million people who voted for Tisza and promises a “more humane Hungary for every single citizen”.
Starmer: This is a historic moment for European democracy
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has congratulated Tisza leader Peter Magyar on his election as Hungarian prime minister.
“This is an historic moment, not only for Hungary, but for European democracy,” he says in a post on X.
“I look forward to working with you for the security and prosperity of both our countries.”
How could the election result influence the war in Ukraine?
There’s been lots of talk about how crucial this election was for Hungary’s future relationship with Europe.
But no European leader will be more relieved to see the result than Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who has for years been locked into diplomatic battles with a hostile Hungarian government led by Viktor Orban’s hard-right Fidesz party.
Budapest has staunchly resisted EU attempts to cut its use of Russian oil and gas since it invaded Ukraine more than four years ago.
Orban has maintained close ties with Moscow and has met with Vladimir Putin on several occasions. He has blocked a 90-billion-euro loan package from the EU to Kyiv, which would have used frozen Russian assets, and says that Ukraine must never be allowed to join the bloc.
The outgoing prime minister also accused the EU and Ukraine of seeking to meddle in the election, and accuses Kyiv of wanting to disrupt Hungary’s energy supply.
Magyar, in contrast, does not oppose Ukraine’s right to join the EU. But neither does his centre-right Tisza party support fast-track accession.
Although Tisza voters differ from Fidesz supporters – in that they consider Ukraine a partner rather than adversary of Hungary – they are nonetheless sceptical about financial support for Kyiv and its bid to join the EU.
Merz says he wants to ‘join forces for strong, secure, united’ Europe
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has weighed in on the election result.
“The Hungarian people have decided. My heartfelt congratulations on your electoral success, dear @magyarpeterMP,” he writes on X.
“I am looking forward to working with you. Let’s join forces for a strong, secure and, above all, united Europe. Gratulálok, kedves Magyar Péter!”
Full report: Hungary’s Peter Magyar wins victory in historic election
Opposition candidate Peter Magyar has claimed a historic victory in Hungary’s elections, ousting Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power.
The country took to the polls on Sunday in what Mr Magyar’s Tisza party called a “now or never” moment to topple Europe’s longest-serving leader.
Just two hours after polls closed, Mr Magyar posted on Facebook that Mr Orbán had “congratulated me on the phone on our victory”, with 45.7 per cent of the count predicting Tisza were projected to win 135 mandates in the 199-seat parliament.
Speaking to supporters in Budapest, Mr Orbán said the result was “painful” and vowed: “We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition as well.”
Read our full report by Nicole Wootton-Cane and Holly Evans here:
Macron speaks with Magyar and hails victory for Europe
French president Emmanuel Macron is next up to react to the election in Hungary.
“I’ve just spoken with Peter Magyar to congratulate him on his victory in Hungary!,” he writes on X.
“France welcomes what has been a victory in terms of people taking part in the democratic process, and a victory which shows the attachment of the Hungarian people to the values of the European Union and for Hungary’s role in Europe,” he adds.
‘Hungary has chosen Europe’, says von der Leyen
European Commission president is the first of Europe’s leaders to react to the critical election result, which is set to reshape Budapest’s relations with the EU.
It’s a post full of dramatic pauses from the European Commission president, who is rejoicing in the victory of pro-EU Peter Magyar.
“Hungary has chosen Europe,” she writes. “Europe has always chosen Hungary. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.
“Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together we are stronger. A country returns to its European path. The Union becomes stronger.”
Source: independent.co.uk