Voting has begun in Hungary in a general election that has been overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine, with the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, seeking a fourth successive term while facing accusations of siding with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
In plummeting temperatures and a mixture of rain and snow that could affect turnout, a steady stream of voters cast ballots after polling stations opened at 6am in an election that has triggered concerns of possible fraud and the outcome of which could determine Hungary’s direction at a pivotal moment in international affairs.
Opinion surveys have shown a tight race after opposition parties coalesced into a six-party bloc, United for Hungary, in an effort to end Orbán’s self-proclaimed “illiberal” reign. The ruling Fidesz party nevertheless appeared to be on course to retain power, perhaps with a significantly reduced majority.
Years of gerrymandering and election rule changes have prompted the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to send a 200-strong monitoring team, only the second time it has done so for a poll in an EU member state.
Experts have projected that the opposition needs an advantage in the popular vote of about 5% to win a majority in Hungary’s 199-member parliament.
Fears of fraud mounted after a large number of ballots – most of them said to be for opposition candidates – were reportedly found partly burnt in a sack at a landfill site last week in the Romanian region of Transylvania, where many ethnic Hungarians have dual citizenship and voting rights.
“The elections … will not be fair. The system favours Fidesz,” said Dominik Istrate, a Hungarian political analyst for the Central European Association, based at Corvinus University of Budapest, in a post on Twitter.
“If irregularities committed by Orbán skyrocket, the opposition could choose to reject the results,” he wrote. “Rejecting the election results would trigger a major political crisis so far unprecedented in the EU.”
Orbán dismissed predictions of fraud, telling journalists on Sunday: “This is a clean and fair election. Everyone had their chance to convince the voters.”
He appeared less comfortable responding to fresh criticism from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly challenged the Hungarian leader over a perceived lack of support and a preference for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. In his latest video address, Zelenskiy described Orbán as the “only leader in Europe who openly supports Mr Putin”.
“Mr Zelenskiy is not voting today,” Orbán said.
The Hungarian opposition leader, Péter Márki-Zay, a 49-year-old economist who has been depicted by Orbán as a warmonger seeking to send troops to Ukraine, concluded his campaign by saying that “Orbán has brought shame on our nation in the world”. He said a vote for the opposition would be a vote to root Hungary in Europe and the EU.
At a polling station in a converted doctor’s surgical practice in Szondi Street in central Budapest, Judith Berki, 45, echoed Márki-Zay’s message of shame when explaining her decision to vote for United for Hungary. “Orban is stealing and creating enemies. … When I’m abroad, I don’t want to say I’m Hungarian.”
Agnes, 69, a retired biology and chemistry teacher, had a different view. “I voted for Orbán because I’m Hungarian and nationalist, not fascist.”
Referring to events in Ukraine, she said: “Every war is terrible. But we don’t want to be in this war.”
