Early results on Sunday night projected opposition leader Peter Magyar’s party as winning 52.49 per cent of the vote and Orban’s Fidesz party taking 38.83 per cent.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat on Sunday after preliminary results from the country’s parliamentary election showed his ruling Fidesz party trailing the centre-right Tisza movement led by Péter Magyar. Reuters reported that with a large share of the vote counted, Tisza was projected to secure a two-thirds majority in the 199-seat parliament. At the same time, AP said Orbán’s 16 years in power had come to an end in a result described as a major political shock.
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Anti-incumbency woes
Orbán said the result was “painful” but clear, according to Reuters and AP. The vote was widely seen as a referendum on his nationalist, eurosceptic leadership style, which critics have long accused of weakening judicial independence, narrowing media freedom, and tightening control over state institutions. The election came after years of clashes between Budapest and the European Union over democratic standards, with Brussels withholding billions of euros in funding from Hungary. The White House has not yet responded to Sunday’s election results.
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Painful for Orban
“The election result is painful for us, but clear. The responsibility and possibility of governing were not given to us. I have congratulated the winner,” he said. At the same time, in a post on X, Magyar thanked Hungary for its support and confirmed that Orban had congratulated him on his success. Chancellor Friedrich Merz congratulated Magyar for his victory and said the "Hungarian people have decided".
