Hungary election 2022: United opposition wants to prevent Orban's re-election - "All options on the table"

Created: 04/03/2022, 12:21 p.m

By: Felix Durach

Parliamentary elections are due in Hungary on Sunday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban is aiming for a fifth term.

The opposition wants to overthrow him.

The news ticker.

• Parliamentary elections* are due in Hungary on Sunday, April 3, 2022.

• Prime Minister Viktor Orban* from the Fidesz party hopes to be able to start his fifth term after being re-elected for the third time in a row.

• The united opposition around top candidate Peter Marki-Zay* wants to put an end to the Orban era.

• This news ticker is continuously updated.

Update from April 3, 10:32 a.m.:

“I am confident,” said Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban immediately after casting his vote.

He made his cross this Sunday morning in his polling station in the Zugliget district of Budapest.

"It's a strange choice because (...) because of the war (in Ukraine) we have to deal with issues of war and peace," he added to journalists. 

The opposition alliance's top candidate, non-party conservative Peter Marki-Zay, called on citizens in a Facebook video this morning to vote out the Orban government.

"Let's choose a better world, a happy Hungary," he said.

Hungary election 2022: United opposition wants to prevent Orban's re-election

First report from April 2, 2022:

Budapest - On Sunday, the citizens of Hungary will be asked to go to the polls and vote on a new parliament for the next four years.

While the war* is still raging in the direct neighboring country Ukraine, the election in Hungary could represent a turning point in the country's recent history.

The Eastern European country has been governed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban since 2010, whose Fidesz party, together with the Christian-democratic KDNP, has a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Hungary election 2022: Opposition wants to overthrow Orban - "All options are on the table"

For the first time in twelve years, however, Orban will face a united opposition in the 2022 parliamentary elections, which has set itself the goal of preventing Orban from a fifth term as prime minister.

The alliance, which ranges from the right-wing Jobbik party and the Liberals to the Greens and Social Democrats, is led by conservative lead candidate Peter Marki-Zay.

The 49-year-old wants to put an end to the Orban era and end the "illiberal" democracy shaped by Orban with his election as prime minister.

According to experts, the result of the parliamentary elections in Hungary is largely open.

Half a million people were still undecided in surveys * a few days before the election, who they will vote for on Sunday.

"All options are on the table," said expert Bulcsu Hunyadi from the independent institute Political Capital of the news agency AFP.

The top candidate of the opposition parties, Peter Marki-Zay, wants to herald the end of the Orban era and lead Hungary out of the “illiberal” democracy.

© FERENC ISZA / AFP

Hungary election 2022: Parliamentary elections during the Ukraine war - Orban is aiming for a fifth term

Orban, who has been in power without interruption since 2010 but had already ruled the country between 1998 and 2002, under his leadership critics see Hungary as becoming increasingly authoritarian.

The 58-year-old is accused, among other things, of restricting freedom of the press and of oppressing and discriminating against homosexuals and trans people.

Electoral law in Hungary was also reformed during Orban's tenure.

Critics saw this as an attempt to give the Fidesz party an advantage in future elections.

Elections in Hungary: International election observers should prevent abuse

Due to concerns about election fraud and manipulation, international election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are deployed for the first time.

In addition, Hungarian volunteers are said to be represented in the polling stations on Sunday.

Hungarian citizens can cast their votes there until 7 p.m. on Sunday evening.

The first projections are expected shortly thereafter, followed later by the results of the parliamentary elections*.