Hungary heads to polls

Hungarians began voting on Sunday in closely watched parliamentary elections that could end nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year stint in power as a self-described “thorn” in the EU’s side.

US President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind the EU’s current longest-serving leader, who maintains close ties to Russia. The vote is closely followed abroad, particularly across the rest of Europe.

Opinion polls suggest the Tisza party of pro-European conservative Peter Magyar, who has promised a “system change”, is running well ahead of Orban’s.

Both camps have alleged foreign interference during the campaign in the central European country of 9.5 million people. US Vice President JD Vance visited Budapest earlier this week to rally with Orban.

Orban, 62, who is seeking a fifth straight term, has transformed his country into a model of “illiberal democracy”. Like Trump, he casts migration and “woke” values as a threat to Western “civilisation”.

Former government insider Magyar, 45, burst onto the scene just two years ago, amassing support against a backdrop of economic stagnation, despite an electoral system skewed in favour of Orban’s Fidesz party.

“Now is our last chance to choose finally east or west. Do we want to be a normal democracy or turn back east with no point of return?” first-time voter David Banhegyi, 18, told AFP after casting his ballot for Tisza in a leafy part of Budapest as a steady trickle of voters arrived.

Polls opened at 6:00 am (0400 GMT), according to AFP journalists. They will close at 7:00 pm.

– ‘Under siege’ –

Orban has increasingly locked horns with Brussels, which accuses him of quashing dissent and eroding the rule of law and has frozen billions of euros in EU funding.

During his visit, Vance attacked the alleged interference in Hungary of Brussels “bureaucrats”, while Trump has promised to bring US “economic might” to Hungary if Orban’s party secures victory.

While criss-crossing the country since February, Magyar has called on Hungarians to “take our homeland back” to secure its place in the EU, and promised to crack down on corruption and offer better services.

Hungary is seen as the most corrupt in the EU, together with Bulgaria, according to the Transparency International watchdog.

“I have one main problem with this government, what it did, the robbing,” said Edit Csillaghegyi, a 58-year-old shop worker, who told AFP that she voted for Magyar’s Tisza.

But Maria Toth, a 31-year-old stay-at-home mother of two, told AFP that “it is so important for us that Viktor Orban stays in power,”

“I feel Hungary is under siege from so many directions and big powers like Brussels are trying to dictate how we live. If he loses, I worry for my children’s future,” she added after casting her ballot.

Orban has focused on making Ukraine the centre topic of his campaign, portraying the neighbouring country, which is fighting off a Russian invasion, as “hostile” to Hungary.

Ahead of the campaign, he has also vowed to continue his crackdown against “fake civil society organisations, bought journalists, judges (and) politicians”.

“If Fidesz wins now, that will clearly mean… a shift towards authoritarianism,” Andrea Szabo, a senior research fellow at ELTE University’s Centre for Social Sciences, told AFP.

“This is the last moment in which this process can be halted, and the pendulum can swing back in a democratic direction,” she added.

– Interference –

Analysts expect a record turnout of around 75 percent, exceeding the previous record of just over 70 percent.

The first preliminary results are expected soon after polls close, but if the race is tight the winner might not be declared until ballot counting is completely finished next Saturday, according to the National Election Office.

While the opposition fears Orban may not recognise the election results, the nationalist leader has accused the opposition of “an organised attempt to use chaos” and “colluding” with foreign intelligence.

In the lead-up to the vote, a flurry of accusations, counter-accusations and leaks surfaced, including recorded phone conversations that caused EU-wide alarm about Orban’s and his foreign minister’s close relations with Moscow.

Reports have claimed an ongoing covert Russian disinformation campaign to help Orban stay in power, while a documentary has alleged his ruling coalition is engaging in massive vote-buying efforts in rural districts

AFP