Hungary opposition has early lead in election to oust Orban

Zoltan Simon, Bloomberg News on Apr 12, 2026

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Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar’s Tisza party took a commanding early lead in elections that may end Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule.

Magyar’s Tisza party was on course to win 64% of parliamentary mandates compared with 31% for Orban’s Fidesz, according to the Election Office in Budapest on Sunday, with 22% of the votes counted. Hungarians had voted in record numbers.

That suggests that Orban, the pro-Kremlin nationalist who’s been an inspiration to President Donald Trump and a thorn in the side of the European Union, could lose power if the current trend is confirmed.

It was too early to say whether Tisza would win a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which would allow Magyar, a former ruling party insider turned critic, to not only oust Orban but to dismantle his self-styled illiberal system.

That may also depend on whether a far-right party and potential Fidesz ally, Mi Hazank, clears the 5% threshold to enter parliament.

Shortly after the polls closed, Magyar said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome. The vote was orderly and will signal direction for the nation, Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok said in a national address.

The result would be a blow to Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sought to keep the EU’s longest serving prime minister in power. The U.S. president repeatedly endorsed Orban and sent Vice President JD Vance to Budapest to campaign for him just days before the vote.

Putin had relied on the Hungarian leader to sow division in the EU, block aid to Ukraine and dilute sanctions against Moscow. His ouster is now likely to pave the way for the release of €90 billion ($106 billion) in assistance that Kyiv badly needs to stay in the fight after more than four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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—With assistance from Marton Kasnyik.