Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has won the election in Hungary.
Orban secured a fourth straight win on Sunday, Reuters news agency reported. Opposition leader Peter Marki-Zay admits he has lost the election.
– It’s a big win, Orban said Sunday night, according to BBC.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is leading comfortably after the results of the first elections began to arrive.
It was previously thought that the election would be the most even in years, after the opposition managed to gather from left to right in a six-party bloc.
Orbán’s opponent, Péter Márki-Zay, was non-partisan but described as a conservative politician.
After casting his ballot on Sunday, he urged the Hungarian people to exercise their right to vote, accusing the ruling government of corruption.
“Even though there is no democracy and free elections in Hungary today, we still have a chance to overthrow the most corrupt government in Hungarian history,” Márki-Zay said. Hungary Today.
Close relations with Russia
As in the rest of Europe, the war in Ukraine has received a lot of attention in Hungary, and has been dependent on elections.
The rest of the West has turned its back on Putin, but Orbán wants to stay in touch with Moscow.
Just a few weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine meet him Putin to discuss rising tensions.
When the war in Ukraine broke out, Orbán didn’t mention Russia directly at first, but came gradually also with criticism of the Russian president.
Hungary is a member of NATO and the European Union, so it contributes troops along the Ukrainian border and sanctions to Russia.
But the prime minister will not introduce measures that could hit Hungary financially.
Fear of election fraud
In the lead-up to the election, there were reports of misguided ballots.
A sack full of partially burned ballots is said to have been found in Transylvania near an illegal landfill, according to Hungary Today.
All the ballots burned, from Hungarian citizens with voting rights living in Romania, were said to be in favor of opposition parties.
Orbán denied any election fraud had occurred.
– This is a fair choice. “Everyone has the opportunity to convince voters,” Orbán told reporters on Sunday Security.
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