Thanks to the six main Hungarian opposition parties that set aside their ideological differences to form a united front against the ruling party, the showdown was expected to be the closest since Mr Orban came to power in 2010. But with 91 percent of the vote counted, the Fidesz-led coalition had won 53 percent, while the pro-European opposition coalition United for Hungary had just over 34 percent, according to the National Electoral Office. . In a 10-minute speech to Fidesz officials and supporters at an event on the eve of the party elections in Budapest, Mr Orban addressed a crowd chanting “Victor!” and said it was a “huge victory” for his party. “We have won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon and you can definitely see it from Brussels,” Mr Orban said. “Everyone in Budapest saw tonight that Christian Democrats, conservatives and patriots have won. “We say in Europe that this is not the past, this is the future.” Mr Orban’s deputy minister, Zoltan Kovacs, said: “We have heard a lot of nonsense recently about whether there is a democracy in Hungary. “Hungarian democracy has not weakened in the last 12 years, but it has strengthened.” If confirmed by the final results, a comfortable victory could encourage 58-year-old Orban in his ambition to build a “free” state, which critics say is tantamount to overturning democratic rules. The invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation” to disarm its neighbor, has forced Orban, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, to maneuver at home and step up opposition leader Peter’s campaign. Marki-Zay to restore Hungary. in the western sphere of influence. However, many older, poorer voters, who have long supported Mr Orban’s conservative social agenda, seemed to distrust the opposition, which he said would drag the country to war. Mr Orban has condemned the Russian invasion and has not vetoed European Union sanctions against Moscow, although he has said he does not agree with them. However, it has banned any arms shipments to Ukraine via Hungarian territory, facing criticism from its nationalist allies in Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday described the Hungarian leader as having no contact with the rest of Europe, which has united to condemn Vladimir Putin. “He is essentially the only one in Europe who openly supports Mr Putin,” Zelensky said. Speaking to supporters on Sunday, Mr Orban singled out Zelensky as part of the “overwhelming force” with which he said his party had fought in the election – “the left at home, the international left everywhere, the bureaucrats in Brussels, the “Soros empire with all its money, the international media, and in the end, even the Ukrainian president.” An outspoken critic of immigration, LGBT + rights and the “EU bureaucrats”, Mr Orban has won the admiration of many right-wing nationalists across Europe and North America. In addition to the parliamentary elections, a referendum on LGBT + issues was held on Sunday. The questions were about sex education programs in schools and the availability of gender reassignment information to children. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has sent a full observer mission to Hungary to observe Sunday’s election, just the second time it has done so in an EU country. Additional reports from Reuters and the Associated Press
