All-time voting record in Hungarian elections broken two hours before polls close

“My first words are ones of gratitude, because the extraordinary turnout we saw and experienced shows that the Hungarian democracy is exceptionally strong,” said Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office said at the press conference of the Fidesz-KDNP coalition after the polls closed. According to Gulyás, the high turnout was partly due to the mobilization efforts of Fidesz and KDNP.

The minister stated that “Overall, this election provided an appropriate framework for the democratic expression of opinion. We hope that the governing parties will once again receive a mandate to govern for the next four years.” They are confident that Fidesz-KDNP will secure the 100 parliamentary seats needed to win the election and form a government.

Lőrinc Nacsa, deputy leader and spokesperson of the KDNP parliamentary group, noted that “a very high turnout is always a strong message for democracy,” and he also thanked everyone for their votes. “Today’s sunny day, with its high voter turnout, was overshadowed by the fact that over the past two days we received 1,500 reports of potential election fraud committed by our opponents,” Nacsa added, but they are confident that their political community will be the one to lead Hungary for the next four years.

Journalists were not allowed to ask questions at the press conference; both politicians left the stage after their brief remarks.

The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony also shared his thoughts about how the outcome of the elections could influence the Hungarian capital. The opposition mayor has had a rocky relationship with the Orbán government for many years. Overtime, the government has gradually introduced several measures which have significantly reduced the capital’s income, almost resulting in insolvency several times.

“In a small country like this, pitting such a large capital city against the entire country is a strategy that will destroy the nation,” Karácsony said.

Speaking in Telex’s studio, Karácsony said he doesn’t see “how Hungary’s EU membership could be compatible with a Fidesz administration in the long term”. In his view, if Orbán and his party remain in power and continue their policies, it will ultimately lead to Hungary’s exit from the EU.

“Overriding the perspective offered by the European Union amounts to betraying our homeland,” he stated.

He noted that it would be a mistake to expect immediate change if Fidesz were to leave power. This kind of approach "by definition usually leads to disappointment" – which is usually followed by a return to the old ways, which Orbán’s friends in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the United States have managed to achieve, he explained.

“All political change that moved Hungary closer to Europe has originated in Budapest,” Gergely Karácsony stated at the end of the interview, emphasizing that they have a political mission. In his view, humanist values have been confined to the “reservation” that is Budapest, but now there's a potential to release these on a national level. He cited last year’s Pride as being of particular significance in this regard, where hundreds of thousands of people showed Viktor Orbán that he has no power over them. At the end of the conversation, he promised that no matter what happens, there will be a Budapest Pride in 2026 as well.

He said that the Tisza Party had assured him that they would resolve the situation in the capital if they won the election. In his view, this is the key to their survival. He still considers the Budapest Act, which is part of the Tisza Party’s program, to be important, and said he had previously brought up similar ideas with Viktor Orbán. He would like to see this law enacted before the end of 2026 so that the city can move forward in 2027.

Karácsony’s relationship with the representatives of Tisza in the Budapest City Council has not been without conflict, but despite the differences the have had, he hopes that Tisza will become more involved in matters relating to Budapest should they win. “I don’t envision our future to be a bed of roses,” he said, but he claims that anything would be better than the current situation.

“We know of at least three Russian government agencies, or agencies close to the government that have interfered or are interfering in the Hungarian elections”, Russia expert András Rácz said in Telex’s studio in our live coverage of Hungary’s pivotal parliamentary elections on Sunday. He gave examples for how pro-Russian narratives and disinformation about Ukraine were used in Fidesz’s campaign, and spoke about the potential reason for pro-government media outlets claiming that Tisza is preparing for acts of violence on election day.

Just like Viktor Orbán, the chairman of the Tisza Party, Péter Magyar also addressed the members of the press after voting on Sunday morning.

He was very confident in a Tisza victory and said that if they won a two-thirds majority, one of their first acts would be to limit the prime minister’s term to two consecutive terms and submit Hungary’s application for joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, among others.

After casting his vote in the morning, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán briefly answered qestions from the press. When asked if he had a message for Péter Magyar, he replied, “Well, I’ve already sent my message to the voters.” The press also wanted to know how big a defeat Fidesz would have to suffer for him to resign as president of the party, to which he replied: “A big one”.

The latest report from the Clean Voting Coalition, established by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and the Civil Kollégium Foundation has detailed several irregularities that occurred on election day.

As reported, in Dunaújváros, at polling station No. 18, voters are receiving ballots on which the name of the candidate who withdrew from the race has not been crossed out. In Fejér County’s 4th single-member district, Zsolt Szabó, the Democratic Coalition (DK) candidate withdrew his candidacy in favor of Ervin Nagy (Tisza Party).

In Hajdúhadház, at the polling station on Bercsényi Street, people are being escorted inside, with a gray Jeep waiting for them in front of the polling station, while in Hajdúsámson, ordinary citizens are accompanying elderly voters into the booth, claiming they asked for help with voting. In Makó, the same cars have been driving around since this morning: locals say that those organizing the transportation are in constant communication with members of the Roma ethnic minority's self-government and Fidesz's municipal representative for the area.

Reports of packages being handed out have come in from Miskolc and Kazincbarcika; in the latter town, Fidesz candidates were seen distributing packages to voters. A photo was also taken today in Kazincbarcika showing Zoltán Demeter, the Fidesz–KDNP candidate, handing a gift package to a voter.

“Hungary’s peace and security may hinge on a single vote today; if we fail to act, the threat of war looms over us; if we make a mistake, the financial security of Hungarian families will be at risk,” Viktor Orbán urged voters on his Facebook page in the afternoon.

The Prime Minister said that this decision “cannot be undone tomorrow,” and “therefore, no patriot can stay home today.”