After 16 years in power, Hungary’s Orbán concedes ‘painful’ election loss to rival Magyar

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat on Sunday after what he called a “painful” election result, ending 16 years in power for a notable figure in the far-right movement allied with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Partial official results show opposition leader Péter Magyar’s party dominating the vote, in a bombshell election result with repercussions around Europe and beyond.

“Thank you, Hungary!” Magyar posted on X, as thousands of his supporters thronged the banks of the Danube in Budapest.

Supporters there reacted with tears and chants, with some praising Magyar’s Tisza party for its historic win and others calling for Orbán to be imprisoned.

During his tenure, many Hungarians grew increasingly weary of Orbán, 62, after years of economic stagnation and soaring living costs as well as reports of oligarchs close to the government amassing more wealth.

Across town, Orbán told his followers, “I congratulated the victorious party.”

“We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition as well,” he said.

With 77 per cent of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party had more than 53 per cent support to 38 per cent for Orbán’s governing Fidesz party.

That proportion will change as more votes are counted.

It’s a major blow for Orbán, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has travelled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.

The parties of both Orbán and Magyar said they had received reports of electoral violations, suggesting some results could be disputed by both sides.

Turnout by 6:30 p.m. local time was over 77 per cent, according to the National Election Office, a record number in any election in Hungary’s post-communist history.

“I’m asking our supporters and all Hungarians: Let’s stay peaceful, cheerful, and if the results confirm our expectations, let’s throw a big, Hungarian carnival,” Magyar said.

Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said the record high turnout showed that “Hungarian democracy is extremely strong.”

‘Choice between East or West’

Orbán has repeatedly frustrated EU efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion, while cultivating close ties to Putin and refusing to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports.

Recent revelations have shown a top member of Orbán’s government frequently shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, raising accusations that Hungary was acting on Russia’s behalf within the bloc.

The election was closely watched in countries across Europe and beyond, which is a testament to the outsize role Orbán occupies in far-right populist politics worldwide.

Members of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement are among those who see Orbán’s government and his Fidesz political party as shining examples of conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is reviled by advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law.

After casting his vote, Magyar told reporters that the election was “a choice between East or West, propaganda or honest public discourse, corruption or clean public life.”

Casting his ballot in Budapest, Marcell Mehringer, 21, said he was voting “primarily so that Hungary will finally be a so-called European country, and so that young people, and really everyone, will do their fundamental civic duty to unite this nation a bit and to break down these boundaries borne of hatred.” — The Associated Press