Hungarians vote in closely watched election with Orban's rule on lineHungary's vote is closely followed abroadBUDAPEST - Hungarians began voting on Sunday in closely watched parliamentary elections that could end nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's 16-year stint in power as a self-described "thorn" in the EU's side. The vote is closely followed abroad, particularly across the rest of Europe. first-time voter David Banhegyi, 18, told AFP after casting his ballot for Tisza in a leafy part of Budapest as a steady trickle of voters arrived. "I have one main problem with this government, what it did, the robbing," said Edit Csillaghegyi, a 58-year-old shop worker, who told AFP that she voted for Magyar's Tisza. "If Fidesz wins now, that will clearly mean... a shift towards authoritarianism," Andrea Szabo, a senior research fellow at ELTE University's Centre for Social Sciences, told AFP.

Source: Bangkok Post April 12, 2026 10:42 UTC