Newsletter Newsletters Events Events Podcasts Videos Africanews
Loader
Advertisement

Record turnout expected as parliamentary election in Hungary gets under way

A woman casts her ballot at a polling station during the Hungarian parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station during the Hungarian parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos) Copyright  AP
Copyright AP
By Gabor Kiss & Bence K.Racz
Published on Updated
Share Comments
Share Close Button

Polls opened at 6am across the country, and will close 7pm local time. So far, all figures point to a record turnout.

A high turnout is expected in the ongoing Hungarian parliamentary election, where voting began at 6am on Sunday morning and some 7.5 million people are eligible to vote.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

One hour after the polls opened, 3.46% of eligible voters had cast their ballot by 7 a.m., a historic record (four years ago it was 1.82%), and 16.9% of eligible voters had turned out by 9 a.m., also a record (four years ago 10.3% had voted by 9 a.m.).

By eleven o'clock, 37.98% of eligible voters had turned out at polling stations, a feat never before recorded in the morning of elections in Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, President of Fidesz, cast his vote in Buda this morning and said he was pleased with the high turnout. It is a victory of democracy. The more people there are, the better."

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, and his spouse Aniko Levai prepare cast their ballots at a polling station in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Phot
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, and his spouse Aniko Levai prepare cast their ballots at a polling station in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Phot Petr David Josek/Copyright 2026 The AP. All rights reserved.

Péter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party, the largest and only opposition party with a chance of governing, also voted in Buda this morning. He said a possible record turnout and a smooth and clean election would favour his party's victory.

"If this election is conducted calmly and legally, then Tisza, and thus Hungary, will win this election," he said.

Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, reacts after casting his ballot at a polling station in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, reacts after casting his ballot at a polling station in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos) Denes Erdos/Copyright 2026 The AP. All rights reserved.

Many people fear electoral fraud, which analysts believe drove more people than ever before to register to vote.

One group, DE! Action Community, says it has recruited watchdogs to be on the lookout for electoral fraud in public places; bus hijackings and bribes.

"More than a thousand of them are sure to be out on the streets. They had to be screened to see who could go to which areas.

On top of that, there are the motorcycle patrols, who politely but persistently follow the transport vehicles, record the fraudsters and make this operation even riskier," said Áron Tímár, the head of the De! Community of Action.

According to the National Election Office, around 900 foreign observers have been registered for the parliamentary elections.

Go to accessibility shortcuts
Share Comments

Read more

Elections in Hungary: What do the polls say?

Orbán or Magyar: EU braces for veto politics or a cautious reset

Record turnout expected as parliamentary election in Hungary gets under way