Peter Magyar defeats Viktor Orban in Hungarian parliament election

by · UPI

April 12 (UPI) -- Peter Magyar and his pro-Europe center-right Tisza party secured a landslide victory in Hungary's parliamentary elections on Sunday, prompting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to concede defeat after 16 years at the country's helm.

With Tisza's win, Hungary is set to have its first new leader after four consecutive terms of Orban rule that have seen democracy in the eastern European nation backslide.

With nearly 99% of all votes processed late Sunday, Tisza had won 138 of 199 seats, according to preliminary results from Hungary's National Election Office.

Orban's far-right, Russia-aligned Fidesz-KDNP alliance secured only 55 seats. The far-right Mi Hazank party, which translates to Our Homeland Movement, won five seats.

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Orban, who is an ally of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, spent his last four terms as prime minister cracking down on courts and the media amid alleged corruption and illiberal rule of the country.

The defeat came after an aggressive anti-EU and anti-Ukraine campaign that for weeks plastered Budapest with billboards and posters depicting European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as threats to Hungary.

Many of the posters in the capital were defaced with graffiti or torn.

In his concession speech, Orban acknowledged the election result as "clear and understandable," The Budapest Times reported.

"For us, the outcome is painful, but unambiguous -- the responsibility and opportunity to govern have not been entrusted to us," he said.

He said he had congratulated Magyar on his election win and pledged to continue to work for the Hungarian people.

"Even from the opposition, we will continue to serve our homeland and the Hungarian nation," he said.

Magyar posted on Facebook that Orban called to congratulate the Tisza party leaders for their victory after what has been reported as a historic election that brought out nearly 77.8% of registered voters, according to the election office.

"Hello, my fellow Hungarians -- we have done it," Magyar told his supporters. "Tisza and Hungary have won the elections. Not by a small but by a very large margin."

"Together, we liberated Hungary," he said, according to The Guardian.

Magyar's election win -- and Orban's defeat -- was swiftly celebrated online by pro-democracy figures as a refutation of authoritarian rule and a victory for Europe.

"Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

"A country returns to its European path. The union grows stronger."

Under Orban's government, Hungary has seen its democratic standing slide through legislation and judicial overhauls.

Like Magyar, Orban came into power with a two-thirds parliamentary majority in 2010. The following year, he enacted a new Constitution that degraded the independence of Hungarian institutions, including the judiciary, media oversight bodies and electoral laws, which the non-partisan Democratic Erosion Consortium organization said concentrated power in the executive branch.

Orban has also led a government that was hostile to the EU, and most recently has been the main obstacle to the 27-member bloc passing a proposed 20th sanctions package against Russia as well as tens of billions of dollars in loans for Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky was among world leaders to congratulate Magyar.

"It is important when a constructive approach prevails," he said in a social media statement, saying he is ready to meet with the new leadership for the benefit of both nations and Europe.

"Europe and every European state must become strong, and millions of Europeans seek cooperation and stability."

Orban has served five terms as prime minister, the first from 1998 to 2002 and then for four consecutive terms from 2010 to 2026.

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