Voting in the elections for the National Assembly (Hungary's unicameral parliament), which will form the country's new government, began on Sunday at 6:00 a.m. local time.
According to the National Electoral Office, polling stations will remain open until 7:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. Bulgarian time).
The elections will allocate 199 parliamentary seats, 93 of which are on party lists and 106 - on single-member constituencies. The ruling coalition, consisting of Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union and its junior partner, the Christian Democratic People's Party (CDPP), is facing the opposition Tisza party. Fidesz is led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, while Tisza is led by former government official and MEP Peter Magyar, who enjoys the support of Brussels.
According to forecasts, the only other political party with a chance of overcoming the 5% threshold and entering parliament is the far-right party “Our Homeland“, led by László Toroskai.
After the last elections held in 2022, the ruling alliance of Fidesz and the Christian Democratic People's Party (CDPP) won a constitutional majority of 135 votes in parliament. Experts believe that they are unlikely to repeat this success this time and if they win, it will be by a small margin.
The voter turnout in the last elections was close to 70%. Given the current difficult situation, it is expected to be even higher. The differences between the government and the opposition are significant, including on issues such as the conflict in Ukraine, relations with the European Union and cooperation with Russia. Both Fidesz and Tisza say that the stakes are high in the election.
There was no day of reflection in Hungary, but on election day, campaigning within 150 meters of polling stations and political advertising in the media are prohibited. At the same time, pre-published campaign materials can remain in place. After the polls close, the exit poll results can be published.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó cannot call his mother due to constant wiretapping by the secret services.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said this on Saturday evening at a rally in Budapest, which ended the election campaign of the ruling Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Union party.
“Péter Szijjártó can no longer even call his mother without a secret service filing a report“, Orbán said, quoted by the online publication HVG.
He stressed that such unprecedented interest from foreign services in the Hungarian elections is related to Budapest's position on a number of controversial issues, from gender ideology to migration. "We have proven that there is another way," Orbán said.
Previously, several media outlets in several countries, including the Eastern European publication VSquare, published the contents of Szijjártó's phone conversations.
Hungary is currently under investigation for the wiretapping. It has emerged that Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Pani, who works for the publication VSquare, provided his mobile phone number to foreign intelligence services. Hungarian authorities have said that Ukrainians subsequently began wiretapping the minister.