Hungary Holds Crucial Parliamentary Elections
- 12.04.2026, 10:32
(Updated) Turnout in the most important vote for the country and Europe is breaking records.
Hungary's April 12 parliamentary elections, already being called the most unpredictable and momentous for the country and Europe in 16 years, are underway. Viktor Orban, who has been prime minister since 2010, is facing a real threat of losing power for the first time.
On the eve of polling day, the opposition Tisa party led by Peter Madjar was favored in all social polls.
But a complex electoral system and an expected record turnout could bring unexpected results.
Charter97.org is following Hungary's parliamentary elections online.
11:50 According to Fidesz, an audio recording has been found on the basis of which the Tisza party may have planned to buy Roma votes. The ruling party says a complaint will be filed in the case on suspicion of a crime against the order of elections.
According to the statement, the recording shows the chief of staff of Romuluş Ruszin-Zendi Attila Stefan saying that they would masquerade as donations to distribute "support" to needy Roma voters.
11:30 As of 9 a.m., voter turnout was 16.89%. This is a huge record, for example in 2022 the figure was 10.31 percent.
Election Geography analyst Matias Bodi said the final turnout for the election is expected to be between 75 and 80 percent.
10:00 Prime Minister Viktor Orban cast his vote in the parliamentary election in Budapest's single-mandate constituency 4 and gave a short press conference as well. The Hungarian prime minister called the day a "celebration of democracy" and emphasized that Hungary's electoral system is the most reliable in Europe.
Orban said that if he wins the election, the first thing he would do is thank his supporters, as a lot of work has been done in recent months. He said that if Peter Madjar gets more votes, he will accept it and congratulate him.
09:45 The Tisa party leader cast his vote at the polling station around 8:30. Madiar said that a record turnout is expected and that he believes that even one or two votes may be counted in some polling stations.
The Tisza party chairman said that so far there have been about 60 reports on the Tisza election fraud website. The politician called on the authorities to do their job according to their oath of office and, if cases of election fraud are found anywhere, to act strictly according to the law.
09:30Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó has already voted with his wife. Under the photo he wrote the obvious thing, that he voted for the Fidesz party.
09:25 In The Hague, Netherlands, a queue has also formed in front of the polling station. As of 6:00 a.m. there were already about 150 people waiting their turn to vote.
09:15 Hungarians are showing high activity at polling stations abroad. For example, in Stuttgart, Germany, voters even had to stand in line to cast their vote.
09:00 according to the official portal of the National Election Bureau, the first hours of voting in Hungary show high civic activity. In the first two hours after the opening of polling stations, the turnout amounted to about 4%. Such figures are comparable to the turnout in the record-breaking 2022 election.
08:00 Morning data from Hungary shows a clear increase in voter mobilization. Turnout as of 7:00 (8:00 a.m. Minsk time) this morning was almost double what it was four years ago.
The first turnout figures for Hungary's parliamentary elections have emerged. According to the National Election Bureau (NVI), 3.46% of voters (260,556 people) had cast their ballots by 7:00 am. Hungarian media reported that in some places people were lining up even before polling stations opened.
For comparison, in the 2022 parliamentary elections at the same time, 1.82% of voters, i.e. 139,667 people, cast their ballots. The final turnout then was 70.21%.
Now the highest morning turnout was recorded in the Pest comitat (3.97%), and the lowest in the Borsod-Abauy-Zemplén comitat (2.75%). In Budapest, turnout was 3.45%.
07:00 a.m. At 6 a.m. Budapest time, polling stations opened across Hungary. Voters vote until 7 p.m. - for a candidate in a single-mandate district (a total of 106 seats out of 199 will be distributed in this way) and for a party. To pass to the parliament, political parties must overcome the five-percent barrier.
Together five parties are taking part in the elections. Their main rivals are Viktor Orban's Fidesz, who has been prime minister since 2010, and Peter Magyar's Tisa, established in 2020 (Magyar himself left the ruling party for the opposition in 2024).
Besides them, voters will be able to vote for the left-wing Democratic Coalition, the parodic Two-Tailed Dog Party, and the far-right Our Fatherland (Mi Hazánk). Only the latter, according to polls, has a chance of breaking the five percent threshold.
Independent opinion polls predict a landslide victory for Tisa, but centers close to the government suggest Orbán's party will retain its parliamentary majority.
The votes must be counted, according to Hungarian law, no later than Saturday, April 18.
How Hungary's electoral system works
Hungary's electoral system is considered one of the most complex in Europe. It is mixed, but with a strong bias toward the majoritarian component, which traditionally favors the major parties. 106 mandates are distributed in single-mandate districts (majoritarian system).
The winner in a district is determined in one round: whoever gets the most votes gets a seat in parliament. 93 mandates are distributed on nationwide party lists (proportional system). To get into parliament, a party needs to pass the 5% barrier (10% for coalitions of two parties, 15% for coalitions of three or more).
This is a uniquely Hungarian feature. The votes that did not bring a mandate are summed up and added to the party's national list result for the losing candidates in the districts.
The winner also gets a bonus: the winner's extra votes (the difference between his result and the second place result + 1 vote) also go to his party's "piggy bank" on the national list. This helps the leader of the race to get even further away from the pursuers.