In a speech to supporters on the night of election, Viktor Orban said his victory gave Hungarians “the opportunity to defend themselves and to defend Hungary”.
Leaders of the second and third-placed parties have resigned in light of the result.
Polling stations were meant to close at 19:00 local time, but some stayed open hours later due to long queues. Voter turnout reached a near-record 69% – an outcome some believed would favor Viktor Orban’s opponents.
However, with almost all votes counted, the nationalist Jobbik party is in second place with 20% of the vote. The Socialists are in third with 12%, and the LMP, Hungary’s main Green Party, is in fourth with 7%.
Jobbik’s chairman Gabor Vona resigned on the night of election, telling a news conference: “Jobbik’s goal, to win the elections and force a change in government, was not achieved. FIDESZ won. It won again.”
Socialist Party President Gyula Molnar also resigned, saying: “We regard ourselves as responsible for what happened [and] we have acknowledged the decision of voters.”
Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban has declared victory in Sunday’s parliamentary election, winning a second consecutive term.
Viktor Orban’s centre-right Fidesz has polled 45%, with most of the votes counted.
A centre-left opposition alliance is trailing with 25%, while the far-right Jobbik party is credited with 21%.
The Hungarian left has never fully recovered from its heavy defeat in the 2010 ballot, in which Viktor Orban swept to power with a two-thirds majority.
Sunday’s election has been mainly fought over the state of the economy, correspondents say.
“No doubt we have won,” Viktor Orban told supporters gathered in the capital, Budapest, late on Sunday evening.
Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban has declared victory in Sunday’s parliamentary election, winning a second consecutive term (photo Reuters)
“This was not just any odd victory. We have scored such a comprehensive victory, the significance of which we cannot yet fully grasp tonight.”
Viktor Orban said the election results showed that Hungarians wanted to stay in the EU, but with a strong national government.
“I’m going to work every day so that Hungary will be a wonderful place,” he declared.
Fidesz is predicted to win around 135 of the 199 seats in parliament.
It now also seems likely that Jobbik will become the second-largest party in parliament.
Although the Socialist-led opposition is in second place, the five parties making up the alliance plan to form their own factions after the elections.
Observers say Jobbik’s adoption of a softer image has paid dividends, as a recent opinion poll found leader Gabor Vona to be the most popular opposition politician.
Fidesz supporters say Viktor Orban’s victory is a tribute to his leadership powers. But opposition parties have accused the prime minister throughout their campaign of undermining Hungarian democracy.
They have also accused Viktor Orban of curtailing civil liberties and harming free speech.
Fidesz has insisted that reform was needed to complete the work of eradicating the legacy of Communism from the country, and reduce the budget deficit to below the EU’s required 3% of gross domestic product.
Viktor Orban’s populist and Eurosceptic approach has proven popular with many Hungarians.
Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban and his right-wing Fidesz party are seeking another term in office in elections on Sunday.
Fidesz is expected to win between 45 and 50% of the vote, polls suggest.
The centre-left opposition is facing a close race for second place with the far-right Jobbik party.
The Hungarian left has never fully recovered from its heavy defeat in the 2010 ballot, in which Viktor Orban swept to power with a two-thirds majority.
The election is mainly being fought over the state of the economy, correspondents say.
Socialist leader Attila Mesterhazy, who heads an opposition coalition of five parties, said he could still defeat Viktor Orban, despite trailing behind in opinion polls with around 25%.
Viktor Orban and his right-wing Fidesz party are seeking another term in office in elections on Sunday (photo Daily News Hungary)
“I don’t care about the polls, people are afraid of expressing their views,” Attila Mesterhazy said Saturday at a small rally in the capital, Budapest.
“I believe I will be prime minister.”
Critics say the state of democracy in Hungary has been eroded under Viktor Orban’s premiership.
The opposition – composed of five leftist and centrist parties – also accuses Viktor Orban of curtailing civil liberties and harming free speech.
But Fidesz has insisted that reform was needed in order to complete the work of eradicating the legacy of Communism from the country, and reduce the budget deficit to below the EU’s required 3% of gross domestic product.
Viktor Orban’s populist and Eurosceptic approach has proven popular with many Hungarians.
“The left had eight years to show what they can do, and they showed us all right,” Viktor Orban told Hungarian media on Saturday.
“Why on Earth should we believe that the same people and the same parties would not do the same if given another opportunity?”
Jobbik is also expected to do well in Sunday’s election, potentially receiving up to 20% of the vote.
Observers say the far-right party’s adoption of a softer image has paid dividends, as a recent opinion poll found leader Gabor Vona to be the most popular opposition politician.
Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party has staged a rally in the center of the capital in protest at the Budapest’s hosting of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Sunday.
Several hundred supporters took part, despite attempts by the government to prevent it going ahead.
Jobbik said the rally was a protest against what it said was a Jewish attempt to buy up Hungary.
The party, which says it aims to protect Hungarian values and interests, is the third largest in parliament.
It regularly issues anti-Semitic statements.
The event in Budapest on Saturday was billed as a tribute to what organizers called the victims of Bolshevism and Zionism.
Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party has staged a rally in the center of the capital in protest at the Budapest’s hosting of the World Jewish Congress
“The Israeli conquerors, these investors, should look for another country in the world for themselves because Hungary is not for sale,” party chairman Gabor Vona told the rally, according to Reuters news agency.
Marton Gyongyosi said Hungary had “become subjugated to Zionism, it has become a target of colonization while we, the indigenous people, can play only the role of extras”.
Last year, Marton Gyongyosi had sparked outrage by saying all government officials of Jewish origin should be officially listed, as they might be a “national security risk”.
Some of those taking part in the rally were wearing the black uniform of Jobbik’s banned paramilitary wing, the Hungary Guard, which has been accused of vigilante action against Roma (Gypsy) communities.
PM Viktor Orban had ordered police to ban the march, but a Budapest court overruled the ban, saying it had been based on “unfounded presumptions”.
Viktor Orban instead instructed the interior ministry to use all lawful means to prevent the event, which goes against the constitution”.
Security was tight around the rally, with police blocking several streets, but there were no reports of unrest.
The WJC usually hosts its assembly in Jerusalem, but has chosen Hungary this year to highlight what it says is growing anti-Semitism in Europe.
The focus of its summit this year will be on the “alarming rise of neo-Nazi political parties and anti-Semitic incidents in several European countries, including Hungary”, it says on its website.
Spokesman Michael Thaidigsmann said the Jobbik rally was a “worrying sign that these people express their anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli ideology in such a public way”.
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