Nightmare for Putin as Orbán concedes Hungarian election after 16 years in power

Putin and Trump ally Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded election defeat in Hungary after 16 years in power.

Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat to his rival after preliminary results show he was defeated in national elections. The Hungarian PM has congratulated his rival Péter Magyar, who is on course to win Hungary’s parliamentary elections. Held on Sunday, April 12, a record 77% of Hungarians turned out to vote in what is seen as one of the most significant elections for the European Union.

Preliminary results project Magyar’s Tisza party winning 136 seats in Hungary’s 199-member parliament, compared with 56 seats for Orbán’s Fidesz. This signals a clear victory for Magyar and an end to Orbán’s 16-year rule famous internationally for illiberal policies that have curtailed democratic rights, strengthened ties with Russia, and led to frequent vetoes of EU decisions, including financial aid to Ukraine.

Although the results are not yet final, Orbán has already conceded defeat following what he described as a “painful” outcome.

“I congratulated the victorious party,” Orbán told supporters in Budapest. “We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from the opposition as well.” Just minutes before Orbán’s speech, Magyar also posted on Facebook, confirming he had received congratulations from his rival.

Some leaders have already congratulated to the newly-elected prime minister, with Emmanuel Macron posting on X that “France salutes a victory of democratic participation, of the Hungarian people’s attachment to the values of the European Union, and for Hungary in Europe.”

Silence still remains from Donald Trump, who endorsed Orbán and hailed him as a model for the rest of Europe.

The strongest congratulations, however, came from the streets. Reporters on the ground have described the euphory in Tisza’s headquarters and on the banks of the Danube in Hungary’s capital Budapest.

András Petöcz, a writer and poet, told CNN the feeling reminded him of being in Budapest in 1989 “when the Communist regime collapsed.”

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