Closing summary
The opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, has won the Hungarian parliamentary election, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, in a result that is likely to rattle the White House and reshape the country’s relationship with the EU.
With 98.74% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party was projected to have won 138 of the 199 seats in the country’s parliament, giving them a super-majority in the near parliament.
The super-majority would let the new government reverse some of the changes made by Orbán and Fidesz, and try to unlock EU funds frozen in a longstanding dispute with the bloc, with a visit to Brussels expected as one of the first foreign trips of the new PM.
In a speech to his supporters, Magyar promised to bring Hungary back to the main fold of European politics, pledging pro-EU and Nato course of the country after years of isolation and awkward relationship under Orbán (22:53, 23:37).
The historic win prompted wild celebrations on the streets of Hungary’s capital city Budapest, with tens of thousands taking to the streets to mark the occasion (21:53, 22:17, 22:22, 22:33, 22:35).
The election was being closely watched around the world as a test of the resilience of the Maga movement and the global far right, many of whom have long looked to Orbán as an inspiration and sought to follow his playbook.
Here is our main story of the night by Ashifa Kassam and Flora Garamvolgyi:
And from me, Jakub Krupa, it’s all for tonight. It’s an honour to be in Budapest and guide you through the events of the night on the blog.
See you tomorrow morning for more reactions, but in the meantime – good night!
If you have any comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
Meanwhile, the celebrations continue on the streets of Budapest, and some people even tear down the Orbán party’s anti-Ukraine posters plastered all over the city – many of which got already defaced in the last few days of the campaign.
