Early results show Peter Magyar’s opposition party dominating the election. Orban’s defeat marks an end to 16 years in office.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban conceded defeat on April 12 in the national election, ending his 16 years in office.
Opposition leader Peter Magyar said on X that Orban called to congratulate him on his victory.
“Thank you, Hungary!” Magyar wrote in the post.
Magyar said he had also received congratulations from world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Orban spoke to a crowd of supporters when it became clear that he would lose the election.
“My dear friends, the election results, although not yet complete, are understandable and clear. The election results are painful for us, but they clearly did not give us the responsibility and opportunity to govern. I congratulate the winners,” Orban said, according to an English translation. “What does tonight’s election result mean and what is its deeper or higher meaning? We don’t know what now; time will tell.”
Magyar’s apparent victory would mark a dramatic shift in Hungary’s political direction after Orban’s four terms in office, marked by policies that reshaped the country’s approach to immigration and its relationship with the European Union.
Orban took one of his most defining actions during Europe’s 2015 migrant crisis. About 390,000 asylum seekers, the majority of whom were Muslim, entered Hungary, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Orban ordered the construction of a razor-wire fence along Hungary’s southern border to stop migrants from entering the country.
The barrier, built along the border with Serbia, was reinforced with police and military patrols as the government moved to restrict crossings.
Orban’s policies drew criticism from the European Union. In a 2022 European Parliament report, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, a French politician and member of the European Parliament, stated, “Hungary is not a democracy.”
Magyar is a Hungarian lawyer who has held positions in government-linked institutions, according to his European Parliament profile. The same profile lists roles connected to Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other state-affiliated organizations, placing him within the country’s public sector prior to entering electoral politics.
By Tom Gantert
