Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, 58, was elected to his fifth term, his fourth in a row, on Sunday, preliminary results indicate. With 71% of votes counted at 22:47 (local time), Fidesz had already won 134 of the 199 seats in Parliament, while the opposition ticket had won 58 seats.
It is not yet possible to say whether, as in 2010, 2014 and 2018, the far-right populist will also obtain two-thirds of Parliament, the majority that allows him to approve changes to the Constitution without depending on other political forces. In 2018, his victory at the polls was 133 seats.
“We won,” wrote Orbán at 10:44 pm on his Twitter account. If the victory is confirmed, Orbán could accumulate 16 years as head of government, one of the longest in Europe.
United for the first time, the opposition alliance, formed by six parties, from left to right, was represented by the candidate Péter Márki-Zay, 49, a mayor of the interior, religious and father of seven children. Chosen in primaries held within the broad coalition, his name was considered an asset to defeat Orbán, as he was also a politician on the conservative spectrum.
Márki-Zay was defeated in his own city, Hódmezővásárhely, where he has been mayor since 2018. There, he lost to a Fidesz candidate, even from Orbán.
Shortly before the close of voting, the candidate accused his opponent of fraud. “Bus, food distribution, blackmail with public works, that’s how Fidesz works. We fight until the last minute,” he said.
