Several opinion polls show Péter Magyar and his Tisza party leading significantly ahead of the April election. In the latest opinion poll, 55% of voters who have already decided would vote for Tisza, while Fidesz gets 35%. Hungarians go to the polls on Sunday, April 12, for parliamentary elections, according to multiple reports.
Poll projections indicate a potential parliamentary majority for the Tisza party. The 21 Research Institute calculates that if elections were held this Sunday, Tisza would secure a stable majority with 129 seats in the 199-seat National Assembly, while Fidesz would receive 64 seats, according to major media. Medián projects that if elections were held this Sunday, only two parties — Fidesz and Tisza — would clear the threshold to enter parliament, multiple reports indicate.
Péter Magyar's rapid political rise began in 2024 as the government faced a presidential pardon scandal that involved a child abuser's accomplice, according to major media. Péter Magyar formed a grassroots party after splitting from the ruling Fidesz party, according to Aftonbladet. Péter Magyar took over the previously unknown Tisza Party and ran as a candidate in the 2024 European Parliament elections, winning a seat as MEP, multiple reports indicate.
The pardon scandal led to the resignation of the president and Judit Varga's retirement from politics, according to major media. This controversy reshaped the political landscape ahead of the election. Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party have had a stable majority in parliament since 2010, official sources confirm.
We are going to achieve such a victory that will surprise everyone, perhaps even ourselves.
Viktor Orbán has been prime minister for 16 years, according to multiple reports. Systemic changes under Fidesz have made power transitions difficult. Fidesz has systematically shifted power away from institutions that a normal parliamentary majority could easily control, according to Aftonbladet.
Key positions have been filled with people loyal to the ruling party for terms longer than election cycles, some even for life, according to major media. The electoral system has been modified to favor the ruling party, constituencies have been redrawn, the media landscape has flowed into the hands of the inner circle, and structures overseeing the rule of law have been weakened, multiple reports indicate. The result is a system where changing power through the ballot box is much more difficult than in a normal parliamentary democracy, according to major media.
Internationally, the European Parliament termed Hungary a 'hybrid regime of electoral autocracy' in a 2022 resolution, according to major media. Orbán has vetoed €90bn in aid to Ukraine, angering European partners, according to Aftonbladet. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly spoke to his Russian counterpart before and after European Union summits, which he has admitted, according to major media.
Campaign dynamics saw large final rallies. Magyar attracted far greater numbers to his final rally in Debrecen than Orbán in Budapest, according to Aftonbladet. Orbán remains highly valued by US President Donald Trump, who has called on Hungarians to vote for him, according to major media.
We don't give our children, we don't give our weapons and we don't give our money.
Election logistics are set. Voting takes place from 06:00-19:00 local time (04:00-17:00 GMT), according to major media. Results will start to come through during the evening, multiple reports indicate.
Concerns about election fairness persist. There is fear that the elections will be formally free but practically unfair, according to Aftonbladet. There is even more fear about what will happen after the elections, according to major media.
Campaign rhetoric has focused on constitutional power. Magyar has told voters they need a two-thirds super-majority to wind back many of the constitutional changes that Fidesz made, according to Péter Magyar. Orbán claimed the opposition would stop at nothing to seize power, according to Viktor Orbán.
Magyar responded by appealing to voters not to give in to Fidesz pressure and blackmail, according to Péter Magyar.