Live – Vote counting under way after record 77.8% turnout in Hungary’s most crucial election in years

Polls have closed and official counting is now under way. There is no official exit poll in this election but a prediction of how the results might look, is given by two of Hungary’s major pollsters.

And there’s very little difference between the two. Medián predicts opposition party Tisza led by Péter Magyar taking home 55% of the vote, while 21 Research Institute has that figure slightly lower at 55%.

Medián has incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party taking 37.9% of the vote while 21 Research Institute puts that number slightly higher at 38%.

The data is an estimate based on a large-sample survey conducted between 7-9 April.

Final results won’t be known for several hours yet and with voter turnout at a record 77.8%, the highest ever recorded in a Hungarian election, there are plenty of ballot papers to count.

“Hungarians understand the importance of this vote, no matter how they voted. This is a celebration of democracy,” Magyar said after polls closed.

He added that he had seen the data from the pollsters and that he is cautiously optimistic but pointed out his party needs to win elections, not polls.

Party started to gather in central Budapest, at Batthyány Square, Euronews correspondent Zoltán Siposhegyi reported.

Balázs Orbán, the political adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (no relation), accused the opposition of fraud and preparing acts of violence.

In a social media post, he said they had received numerous complaints and reports of Tisza activists acting aggressively, threatening voters, using drone surveillance and carrying weapons to polling stations.

He also accused the opposition of attempting to bribe voters.

“We will keep Hungary’s peace,” Balázs Orbán said.

Hungary’s parliamentary election is shaping up to be the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during his 16 years in charge of government.

Polling agencies continue to show significantly different outcomes, with overall trends over time favouring the opposition Tisza Party.

Horváth Ferenc has the full report below.

Just days before the Sunday vote, US Vice-President JD Vance travelled to Hungary to endorse Orbán and critique the EU.

Vance, giving a press conference beside Orbán, made a number of claims about the European Union, accusing it of “trying to destroy” Hungary’s economy, sabotaging the country’s energy independence and “driving up costs for Hungarian consumers.”

He didn’t hold back as he accused the EU of “one of the worst examples of election interference I have ever seen or ever even read about” during his trip to Budapest.

But several of Vance’s claims are misleading. Euronews’ fact-checking team, The Cube, looked at the three biggest ones.

Opposition leader Péter Magyar released a statement on Sunday denying allegations that his Tisza Party was planning violence in the event of an election defeat.

The warnings came after government spokesman Zoltán Kovács noted that Tisza’s election-night event was being held close to parliament and the prime minister’s office, suggesting that “a short walk is all it takes to move a crowd from ‘watching results’ to ‘taking action’.”

Several pro-government commentators also cautioned that Fidesz’s victory could trigger unrest.

Magyar dismissed the claims outright. “It is a common Fidesz scare story and lie that anyone is preparing for violent protests or building occupations after the vote,” he said.

“We are living in the final hours of Orbán’s rule: let’s bid them farewell calmly and with dignity, and tomorrow let’s start reuniting the nation” Péter Magyar said in a press release. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán urged his supporters to vote on Sunday, warning that the country’s peace and security could depend on a single ballot.

“It’s a decision we cannot undo. We have to defend Hungary!” Orbán wrote in a social media post published in the afternoon.

Throughout the campaign, Orbán had accused the opposition Tisza Party of seeking to drag Hungary into war and of acting in foreign interests, allegations the party and its leader, Péter Magyar, have firmly rejected.

In just two years, Péter Magyar has grown from a virtually unknown figure in Hungarian politics to becoming the biggest threat to the Fidesz Party – his former political home – and its 16-year uninterrupted stretch in government.

Magyar burst into prominence in 2024 as the government faced a presidential pardon scandal that involved a child abuser’s accomplice.

Prior to that, he was raised in a conservative family and was anything but an outsider when it came to the politics of of Fidesz.

You can check out Zoltan Siposhegyi’s profile of the man who could be Hungary’s next PM below.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has governed Hungary for nearly 16 years, reshaping its institutions, challenging EU norms and positioning himself as the leading voice of nationalist conservatism on the continent.

His trajectory from liberal student activist to self-described champion of “illiberal democracy,” is one of the most striking — and polarising — political reinventions in post-communist central and eastern Europe.

Gábor Tanács has this profile of the man who could be Hungary’s outgoing PM.

By 6:30 pm local time, just over 77% of eligible voters had cast their votes, making it a record high and a significant increase on the 62% at the last election four years ago.

Incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his happiness at the high turnout after casting his vote in Budapest. “I came to win,” he said, and urged everyone to vote.

After casting his vote, opposition leader Péter Magyar said that he was certain that his Tisza party would win and that he believed there would be a change at the top of Hungarian politics.