After 16 years in power, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces historic defeat

By Salami Abdulhakeem

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accepted defeat in a parliamentary election, as early results from the country’s parliamentary election pointed to a historic defeat for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose sixteen-year grip on power now faces defeat from opposition leader Péter Magyar of the Tisza Party.

According to the National Election Office of Hungary, voter turnout reached 77.8 percent, the highest since the country’s democratic transition in 1990. This extraordinary turnout signalled a Hungarian electorate determined to decide its own future.

Official results published on vtr.valasztas.hu confirmed Tisza won 138 of 199 parliamentary seats, against Fidesz-KDNP’s 55 — a landslide victory giving Magyar the two-thirds supermajority needed to amend Hungary’s constitution.

Péter Magyar, a 45-year-old former government insider, founded the Tisza Party just two years ago, campaigning primarily on anti-corruption, economic reform, and pro-European values.

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Orbán’s defeat came after years of mounting public frustration, following three consecutive years of economic stagnation, a soaring cost of living, and repeated corruption scandals.

For a generation of Hungarians who have known nothing but life under Orbán, Sunday’s result marks more than a change of government. It signals a turning point not just for Hungary, but for Europe itself. As Magyar prepared to take power, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, posted on X:

“Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.”