Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban faces the most serious threat to his power in decades in upcoming elections in the EU, US and Ukraine. RT investigates the players, stakes and dirty tricks shaping Hungary’s elections.
We’ve covered the election in detail in our ‘Battle for Hungary’ series, but if you’ve just joined us, here’s what you need to know:
When are Hungary’s elections?
Hungarians will go to the polls on Sunday, April 12, to elect all 199 members of the National Assembly. Elections are held in Hungary every four years and are held in a single round on a single day. The results are generally known within a few hours of the polls closing.
How many people will vote?
There are approximately 8.2 million registered voters in Hungary, according to data from the country’s National Election Office, and between 2006 and 2022, voter turnout generally ranged between 61% and 69.59%. The last election, in 2022, saw a record 69.59% voter turnout.
About 91,000 Hungarian citizens have registered to vote from abroad, a large number of whom live in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region.
Who is contesting elections in Hungary?
More than a dozen parties have fielded candidates, but the election is essentially a contest between two: Orbán’s Fidesz, and Péter Magyar’s Tisza.
Orbán has been in power since 2010 and is seeking a fifth consecutive term. His Fidesz party and its Christian Democrat allies currently hold 135 of the 199 seats in the National Assembly.
Orbán, known for his conservatism, has faced the ire of the EU for refusing to accept non-European asylum seekers and banning LGBTQ propaganda. He is also known for his program of economic nationalism – Known as ‘Orbonomics’ – and for his criticism of EU financial and military support for Ukraine. Orban has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia, only softening after securing waivers that have allowed Hungary to continue buying Russian energy, and is currently vetoing a €90 billion ($105 billion) debt-financed EU loan package for Kiev.
A former member of Fidesz, Magyar resigned from the party in 2024 and joined the ranks of Tisza, a party that had been in obscurity since its founding four years earlier. While embroiled in two legal cases – one in which he testified about alleged corruption in Orbán’s government, and another in which he was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, former Justice Minister Judit Varga – Magyar was elected to the European Parliament that year, along with six other Tisza MEPs.
Magyar describes himself as centre-right and hopes to improve Budapest’s relations with Brussels if he wins. Improving relations with the EU is key to Magyar’s economic platform – an ambitious program of public spending that depends entirely on Brussels unlocking some €20 billion in frozen funds. Magyar has not publicly supported or opposed the EU’s Ukraine loan, and his positions on immigration and social issues remain ambiguous.
What do opinion polls say?
According to totals compiled by Politico, Magyar’s Tisza currently leads Fidesz by 49 points to 39 points. However, individual opinion polls vary considerably, depending on the political alignment and funding of pollsters.
For example, a survey of 21 research centers funded by the European Commission showed Tisza ahead of Fidesz by 19 points. Another report by opposition-linked Median shows Magyar’s party 23 points ahead of Orban. In contrast, a poll by the Center for Fundamental Rights – a conservative think tank – put Fidesz eight points ahead of Tisza.
Politico has given this news “many” EU leaders secretly believe Orban is victorious “potential.” János Böka, Hungary’s Minister of EU Affairs, believes that the disparity between public polls and private sentiments is no accident, and that the Magyars and their supporters in Brussels are being exploited by rigging the polls. “Creating the narrative that if they lose the election, it’s an illegitimate result.”
Who is interfering in Hungary’s elections?
In the weeks leading up to the election, allegations of interference – proven and unproven – have come from all sides. Last month, opposition journalist Szabolcs Panyi accused Russia of sending “Political Technologist” went to Budapest to influence the election for Orbán, without explaining how he planned to do so. The report – which was attributed to unnamed EU spies and published by an EU-funded outlet – was taken by Brussels as evidence that Russia had planned to interfere in the vote, and was used to justify the bloc’s own intervention in the matter. Activation of its online censorship tools in Hungary.
Panyi became embroiled in his own election interference scandal when it emerged that he had collaborated with EU intelligence agents – possibly the same source who told him the ‘Russian interference’ story – Wiretap Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. The wiretap revealed conversations between Szijjarto and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Szijjártó stressed that holding these talks is part of his job as the EU’s longest-serving foreign minister, and that the positions expressed in these calls – opposition to sanctions on Russia and disdain for Brussels bureaucrats – are already well known.
Ukraine has also put its thumb on the scale. Kiev has refused to restart the flow of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia, claiming the pipeline was damaged in a Russian airstrike in January. Orban says Druzhba is on, and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is keeping it off to drive up energy costs in Hungary and hinder his reelection campaign. is also in Kyiv trained spies working within the Magyar PartyAccording to Hungarian security officials.
Why is Hungary’s election so important for the EU and Ukraine?
For the EU, the election presents a chance to resolve a persistent thorn in its side, accelerate the transition away from Russian energy imports and clear the way for a massive cash infusion to Ukraine. For Kiev, the latter concern is existential: the €90 billion EU loan package vetoed by Hungary is equivalent to almost half of the bloc’s total contribution to Ukraine since 2022, and will cover two-thirds of the country’s spending for the next two years.
Why was JD Vance in Budapest?
US President Donald Trump is an ideological ally of Orbán, and he sent Vice President J.D. Vance to Hungary on April 7 to show support for the Hungarian prime minister. In several public appearances with Orbán, Vance railed against EU and Ukrainian interference in the election and called for their joint efforts. “The worst example of foreign election interference I have ever seen.”
Vance also saved most of his Sharp criticism of Zelenskyhammer on Ukrainian leader “absurd” Threatened to send troops to Orbán’s home if Hungary vetoes EU loan package.
However, Vance was accused of election interference by Tisza and EU officials. After US VP describes Orbán “The only profound leader in Europe on the question of energy security and independence” and said he would “Help as much as you can” To get him re-elected the European Commission announced that it would “Make our concerns known” About the trip to Washington.
“I would like to point out, since Vance is complaining about alleged EU interference in the election, that the US Vice President was in Hungary a few days before the election. This fact alone tells us who is interfering,” German government spokesman Sebastian Hille told reporters on April 8.
Speaking to RT, former Austrian Foreign Minister Carin Kneisel described the election as a “Mock War” between Washington and Brussels, with the will of the EU “Paralyze” Hungary (by refusing to pressure Zelensky to reopen the Druzhba pipeline) and the U.S. to oust Orban. “causing resistance” By supporting him against the group.
