Hungarians head to the polls on Sunday in an election that could topple Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, with major polls pointing to a significant lead for opposition challenger Péter Magyar and his Tisza party.
Magyar, a former Fidesz insider who broke with the ruling party to form a grassroots movement, is promising what he calls "a change of regime," including a reset of relations with the European Union and an end to Hungary's close ties with Russia. He drew far larger crowds to his final rally in the city of Debrecen than Orbán attracted in Budapest on the eve of the vote.
Orbán, however, remained defiant on Saturday night. "We are going to achieve such a victory that will surprise everyone, perhaps even ourselves," he told several thousand supporters on Budapest's Castle Hill. He has the backing of US President Donald Trump, who called on Hungarians to "get out and vote" for his "true friend, fighter, and WINNER."
The stakes extend well beyond Hungary's borders. Orbán has vetoed €90 billion in EU aid to Ukraine and maintained close relations with Moscow — his foreign minister was revealed to have regularly consulted with his Russian counterpart before and after EU summits. Magyar's victory could fundamentally shift Hungary's position within both the EU and NATO.
Hungary's three most reliable pollsters all point to a "huge lead" for Magyar's Tisza party, according to election specialist Róbert László at the Budapest think tank Political Capital. Magyar has told voters he needs not just an absolute majority of 100 seats in the 199-seat parliament, but a two-thirds super-majority to reverse the constitutional changes Fidesz enacted over its years in power — changes that reshaped the judiciary, media ownership, and other institutions. Polls close at 19:00 local time, with results expected to come through during the evening.