Trump-backed Viktor Orbán swept from power in Hungary after 16 years

Budapest: Hungarian voters have delivered a crushing election defeat to populist conservative Viktor Orbán, giving his challenger, Peter Magyar, a powerful majority as prime minister to repeal laws, sack officials and expose corruption.

The emphatic result defied Orbán’s attempt to use endorsements from US President Donald Trump and other leaders to position himself as the safe choice for the nation after 16 years in power.

Magyar declared victory with a vow to stop Hungary from being a “vassal” state beholden to others, reprising a key campaign theme that Orbán was too close to Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin.

Supporters of Magyar and his Tisza party erupted in cheers at a celebration opposite the parliament in Budapest, with thousands of people joining the rally as the scale of the victory became clear.

Magyar claimed victory with a pledge to govern for all Hungarians and a vow to exercise the full power of his election mandate, given that his party appears set to have more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament – a key threshold for amendments to the constitution and other major changes.

The scale of the victory gives Magyar the ability to stare down the Hungarian president, Tamás Sulyok, an Orbán ally, who could block the new prime minister’s agenda if the governing party did not reach the key threshold.

“Together we replaced the Orbán regime, liberated Hungary and took back our homeland,” Magyar said in his victory speech, according to a translation by media site HVG.

“May this day also be a golden date for Hungarian freedom: not the victory of one party over another, but the victory of freedom and truth over oppression and lies.”

In a bold move to avoid a long clash with the president, Magyar called on Sulyok to recognise the election result by resigning from his office once he had asked Tisza to form a government.

Magyar also called on some of Orbán’s key allies in top government posts, such as the chief prosecutor and the president of the constitutional court, to step down because he intended to remove them.

Orbán accepted the result despite his complaints in the campaign about voter fraud and foreign interference – a theme that may have prepared him to challenge the vote count.

“We do not know what today’s election results mean for the fate of our country and nation,” Orbán said after the results showed he would not command a majority.

“But no matter how it turns out, we, as the opposition, will serve our country and the Hungarian nation.”

While the early results indicated that Magyar would gain a majority, the election’s historic significance only became apparent over time, as the counting showed that Tisza would have more than two-thirds of the seats.

Orbán’s party, Fidesz, had only 55 seats in the count at midnight, local time (8am on Monday AEST). Final results could take a week.

Magyar and his Tisza party emerged with 138 seats, representing 69.3 per cent of parliament, surpassing the 66.6 per cent threshold.

A smaller right-wing party, Mi Hazank, which translates as Our Homeland, won 5.9 per cent of the vote and gained about six seats in parliament. Other parties failed to exceed 5 per cent and did not qualify for any seats.

The campaign was marked by competing claims of foreign interference as Orbán – who opposes EU funding for Ukraine and has good ties with Putin – accused Magyar of being close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and therefore taking Hungary into the war with Russia.

Orbán relied heavily on outside help, however, and touted a pledge from Trump to throw the “full economic might” of the US behind a Hungary under Orbán.

Voters who spoke to this masthead on polling day were divided on Trump’s endorsement; some welcomed the pledge, while others said it made no difference because they were more worried about corruption in the Orbán government.

Thousands gathered at competing rallies in Budapest on election night, with Tisza supporters cheering Magyar at their celebrations on the banks of the Danube near the nation’s historic parliament.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the landslide election victory as a move by the country towards Europe.

“Europe’s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight,” she said in a post on X. “Hungary has chosen Europe. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.”

Others were more pointed about the long-standing concern that Orbán was too close to Putin and that the Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, called his counterpart in Russia to share information about EU meetings.

Orbán opposed support for Ukraine in the war with Russia and ran a negative campaign ad that claimed Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were “dangerous” and would bring Hungary into the war.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who clashed with Orbán over Ukraine, said the result meant that Poland, Hungary and Europe were back together.

“Glorious victory, dear friends! Ruszkik haza!” he posted on X. The final phrase of his message means “Russians go home” and was used by Hungarians when they sought to stop Russian troops from taking control of their country in 1956. The words were often chanted by Magyar’s supporters at their rallies.

Magyar also drew congratulations from Zelensky, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and French President Emmanuel Macron.

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