Viktor Orbán concedes defeat in Hungarian election

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat in parliamentary elections to his rival, conservative Peter Magyar, a former government insider and political newcomer who has promised "system change".

"The election results, though not yet final, are clear and understandable; for us, they are painful but unambiguous," said Mr Orbán, who has ruled the central European country for 16 years.

"We have not been entrusted with the responsibility and opportunity to govern. I congratulated the winning party," he said.

Mr Magyar posted on social media saying Mr Orbán had called him to congratulate him on his victory.

Mr Magyar's Tisza party stood at 52.49% and Fidesz 38.83% with 53.45% of precincts counted.

This could give Tisza 135 seats in the 199-member Hungarian legislature, pollster Median said. Pollster 21 Research Centre projected that Tisza could win 132 mandates.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin congratulated Mr Magyar on his victory, and commended the high turnout.

"I look forward to working with Prime Minister elect Magyar to strengthen bilateral relations between Ireland and Hungary based on our shared membership of the European Union and our commitment to shared values," he added.

EU chief von der Leyen hails Orbán defeat

The head of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed the defeat of Mr Orbán, saying Hungary has "chosen Europe".

"Europe's heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight," she posted on X, in English and in Hungarian.

"Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary," she added. "A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger," she added.

High turnout

Pollsters predicted a record voter turnout. Data at 3pm local time showed 74.23% of voters had cast their votes, up from 62.92% at the same time in the 2022 election.

Hungarian television showed long queues outside some voting stations in Budapest.

Mr Orbán's defeat after 16 years in power will have significant implications not only for Hungary but for the European Union, Ukraine and beyond.

It will likely spell an end to Hungary's adversarial role inside the EU, possibly opening the way for a €90 billion EU loan to war-battered Ukraine that Mr Orbán has blocked.

It could also mean the eventual release of EU funds to Hungary that the bloc had suspended due to what Brussels said was Mr Orbán's erosion of democratic standards.

Mr Orbán's exit would deprive ⁠Russian President Vladimir Putin of his main ally in the EU and send shockwaves throughright-wing circles across the West, including Mr Trump's White House.

In Hungary, a Tisza victory ‌could open the way for reforms that the party says would aim to combat corruption and restore the independence of the ⁠judiciary and other institutions.

However, ‌the extent of such reforms will depend on whether Tisza can secure the two-thirds constitutional majority it would need to reverse much of Mr Orbán's legacy.

Economic stagnation hurt Orbán's support

Mr Orbán, a eurosceptic, carved out a model of a an "illiberal democracy" seen as a blueprint by Mr Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and its admirers in Europe.

But many Hungarians have grown increasingly weary of Mr Orbán, aged 62, after three years ⁠of economic stagnation and soaring living costs, as well as reports of oligarchs close to the government amassing more wealth.

Tisza's leader Mr Magyar appears to have successfully tapped into this frustration.

Casting his ⁠vote for Tisza in the Hungarian capital, Mihaly Bacsi, aged 27, said the country needed change.

"We need an improvement in public mood, there is too much tension in many areas and the current government only fuels these sentiments," he said.

Another voter, who gave her name as Zsuzsa, said she wanted continuity.

"I would really like if all the results that have been achieved in recent years remain - and I am terribly afraid of the war," she said, referring to the conflict raging in Ukraine, Hungary's eastern neighbour.

Mr Orbán sought to cast today's election as a choice between "war and peace". During campaigning, the government blanketed the country with signs warning that Mr Magyar would drag Hungary into Russia's ‌war with Ukraine, something he strongly denies