Voting in Hungary's parliamentary elections as of 1:00 p.m. has reached a record high of 54.14%, according to official data released by the country's election authorities.
Voting is taking place amid heightened voter interest amid a tight race between the ruling Fidesz party and the opposition TISA party. In the last parliamentary elections in 2022, at the same time, a voter turnout of 40% was recorded, and in the elections in 2018 - 42.3%.
The polling stations opened at 06:00 this morning (07:00 Bulgarian time – editor's note). Voting will continue until 7:00 p.m. local time, with the first preliminary official results expected to be announced after 8:00 p.m.
Hungarians will write history in the election by choosing "between East and West", and the opposition TISA party will win, its leader Peter Magyar told the media, Reuters reported.
He made the statement after casting his vote at a polling station in Budapest.
Magyar said that every vote matters in the parliamentary elections, which could lead to record voter turnout.
The leader also urged people to report any irregularities they encounter during the vote, recalling that "electoral fraud is a very serious crime".
Magyar added that it was important to improve relations with Poland and Czech Republic and expressed hope for "very strong cooperation within the Visegrad Four".
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he was "here to win" after casting his vote in the country's parliamentary elections at a polling station in Budapest, Reuters reported.
Orban voted at a polling station in an elementary school building not far from his home in Budapest's 12th district. His wife, Aniko Levay, also voted with him. Before casting their ballots in the ballot box, they briefly posed for photographers and then went out into the street, where Orban answered several questions from the media.
The prime minister arrived at the polling station in his personal car. On the way, as well as at the polling station, he was accompanied by his security, TASS reported.
The parliamentary elections in Hungary are being contested for 199 seats, of which 93 are distributed by party lists and 106 by single-member constituencies. The ruling coalition, made up of the Fidesz party and its junior partner, the Christian Democratic People's Party (CDPP), is being opposed by the opposition Tisza party of Peter Magyar, which enjoys the support of Brussels.
Magyar says that if we win, measures to combat corruption must first be adopted. In addition, the opposition - for now - leader notes the great importance of unblocking frozen funds from the EU.
The leader of Tisza expressed confidence that his political force will win the vote, the question is whether it will have a simple majority or secure two-thirds of the parliamentary seats. Magyar also noted that Hungary must strengthen its positions in the EU and NATO.
Meanwhile, Hungarian media reported an unusual situation in one of the polling stations in Budapest, where there are only six registered voters.
The polling station in question - No. 25 in the capital's electoral district No. 1 - covers only a few addresses, while neighboring districts usually include between 1,000 and 1,200 voters. The area is predominantly built up with office buildings and has only a few residential properties.
According to the National Electoral Office of Hungary, the unusual situation in Budapest is the result of strict legal restrictions. According to Hungarian electoral law, polling stations cannot violate the boundaries of a settlement, parliamentary constituency or local government constituency. Because of these overlapping requirements, the six voters cannot simply be transferred to a neighboring polling station without violating the law. The electoral office emphasizes that the configuration is completely legal, even if it seems illogical.
The unusual situation arose after a redistribution of electoral district boundaries in late 2024, when Hungary’s ruling majority approved a new map of electoral districts. This redistribution changed the composition of Budapest’s constituency No. 1 by adding new stations and removing others, resulting in the creation of the small six-person polling station.