Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat to opposition leader Péter Magyar. The historic election ends Orbán’s 16-year tenure. This political collapse stems directly from public anger over soaring living costs, a stagnant economy, and a recent presidential pardon scandal that fractured the ruling party.
The Tisza party crossed the critical two-thirds supermajority threshold. They are projected to secure 135 to 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament with over 72% of the vote counted. Orbán’s Fidesz party is on track for 54 to 57 seats, the Associated Press reported.
Orbán addressed his supporters at his campaign headquarters in Budapest at approximately 8:19 p.m. BST on Sunday. He called the election result “clear” and “painful.”
Voter turnout reached approximately 78%. This is the highest turnout in Hungary’s post-communist democratic history since 1990. Magyar, a former Fidesz insider, rapidly built the Tisza movement earlier this year after surging in final election polls to capture widespread domestic frustration.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen immediately congratulated Magyar. “Europe’s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight,” she said.
Power will now transition in a drastic geopolitical realignment for the European Union. A Magyar-led government is expected to unblock a frozen €90 billion EU aid package to Ukraine that Orbán had previously vetoed, according to the Washington Post. The result is also a significant blow to global far-right movements, arriving just days after U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited Budapest to campaign alongside Orbán.