Parliamentary elections in Hungary: Things could get tight for Viktor Orbán

Created: 04/01/2022Updated: 04/01/2022 8:29 PM

By: Luke Rogalla

Viktor Orbán has been Hungary's Prime Minister for 12 years.

However, he could lose power in this year's general election.

• For

  Viktor Orbán

  * it will be

  tight in the

  Hungarian election .

• Polls on the 2022 Hungarian election give

  hope to opposition leader

  Péter Márki-Zay .

• All developments regarding the

  parliamentary elections in Hungary

  can be found here in the

  news ticker

  .

Budapest – Parliamentary elections will take place in Hungary on Sunday, April 3, 2022.

Four years ago, the governing alliance of Fidesz and KDNP, which has been in power since 2010, was confirmed in office with a two-thirds majority of mandates.

The alliance around Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will also appear this year.

This time, however, a head-to-head race is expected.

Viktor Orbán has been Prime Minister of Hungary for twelve years.

The right-wing populist is the longest-serving head of government in a member state of the EU*.

He could lose power in this year's general election.

The hope of the opposition is Péter Márki-Zay.

The pro-European and conservative mayor of the city of Hódmezővásárhely was initially considered an outsider in the primary elections, but in October 2021 he was elected the lead candidate of an alliance that brought together left, right and centrist parties under the name "United for Hungary" (Egységben Magyarországért - EM ) brings together.

Márki-Zay said at the time that "the way out is neither right nor left, but upwards".

Hungary election 2022: Péter Márki-Zay challenges Viktor Orbán

Orbán could indeed be in trouble.

His friendly relationship with Russia's Vladimir Putin* and the demand that Hungary should stay out of the Ukraine conflict* is not well received by many voters in the country.

The relationship with the EU has also been badly damaged for years: Orbán always rails against Brussels.

The incumbent prime minister is seen as authoritarian and anti-liberal.

The parliament in the capital Budapest: On April 03, 2022, Hungary faces an election.

(Archive photo) © Robert Michael/dpa

The right-wing extremists in Hungary are also in focus.

After splitting off from the right-wing Jobbik party following the 2018 election, the new party “Mi Hazánk Mozgalom” (“Movement Our Homeland”) is emerging with leading candidate László Toroczkai.

Since 2013, the ultra-nationalist Toroczkai has been mayor of Ásotthalom, a small town on the border with Serbia.

The party's split from Toroczkai paved the way for Jobbik to work with other opposition parties.

The first projections and results for the Hungarian election* are expected after the polling stations close at 7 p.m. in the evening.

Out of fear of manipulation, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) sent around 200 observers to Hungary.

This is only the second time they have been used in an election in the EU.

In addition to the parliamentary elections, four referenda requested by the government on alleged “LGBTQ propaganda” are also scheduled.

The questions relating to the Child Protection Act are as follows:

• Are you in favor of allowing children in public schools to take classes on sexual orientation without parental consent?

• Are you in favor of giving children information about gender reassignment treatments?

• Are you in favor of allowing media content of a sexual nature that affects children's development to be presented to them without restrictions?

• Are you in favor of showing media content depicting gender reassignment to children?

• Source: ungarnheute.hu

(lrg) *