Manfred Weber, the head of the EVP party and a member of the CSU, stated that Péter Magyar, the leader of the opposition in Hungary, had congratulated him by phone on a presumed electoral victory. Weber interpreted the Hungarian election as a sign of resistance to right-wing populism across Europe. He told Spiegeling, “Europe’s right-wing populists are losing their figurehead tonight. Pro-European, bourgeois politics is winning elections. That is the signal of this historic election night”.
Weber added that the Hungarians had chosen a party that focuses on their specific concerns and offers solutions, citing key issues such as “healthcare, education, secure jobs, and higher wages”-issues that are currently championed by Magyar within the EU Parliament fraktion where Weber is also a member. “I am proud of Péter Magyar. The anti-European course set by Orbán has failed” he asserted, further criticizing Orbán’s leadership by stating that Orbán’s policies have “made the Hungarians poorer. Populists do not deliver”.
The vote counts for the parliamentary election are still ongoing. According to preliminary estimates from the national election office, Magyar’s party, Tisza, is significantly ahead, and Orbán is set to lose power after 16 years in government. At a point where Tisza currently stands at 81.49 percent of the votes, it is projected to secure 137 out of 199 seats. This would give the newly represented party a two-thirds majority, enabling it to amend the constitution.
Orbán’s party, Fidesz, which secured 135 seats with the ruling partner KDNP in the last election, is expected to lose substantially, dropping to just 55 members of parliament. The Mi Hazánk Mozgalom party is estimated to gain 7 seats in the preliminary numbers.
In the Hungarian parliament of 199 seats, 106 seats are allocated based on the first vote in single-member districts, requiring a simple majority for direct candidates. For the remaining 93 mandates, all votes-including those cast for list votes, votes received by the defeated direct candidates, and the margin by which the district winners beat the second-place candidates-are taken into consideration.