Hungary - April 2026 Election
The human rights situation in Hungary deteriorated during the year 2023. Authorities began enforcing the 2021 “child protection” law, restricting access to written materials on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex themes and dismissed a museum director for failing to restrict access to an exhibit that included a single photograph depicting such individuals. The government began to use intelligence services and government-controlled media to investigate civil society organizations and independent media outlets that received foreign funding, depicting them as potential threats to the country’s sovereignty. This laid the groundwork for the introduction in December of a bill dubbed the “sovereignty protection bill,” which would give the government vast additional powers to investigate and subpoena civil society organizations and others deemed to be “influencing democratic debate and the decision-making process.”
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including censorship; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association (including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental and civil society organizations); serious government corruption; serious government harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations; crimes involving threats of violence targeting Roma; crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons.
Hungary is a parliamentary republic. Since January 1, 2012, a new Constitution has been in force in the country, according to which the former name of the country “Hungarian Republic” has been replaced by “Hungary”. The highest body of state power and people's representation is the unicameral State Assembly (199 deputies). Chairman – Laszlo KEVER (FIDES). On May 3, 2022, he was elected to this post for the fourth time. According to the results of the parliamentary elections held on April 3, 2022, the right-wing conservative bloc FIDES - Christian Democratic People's Party (FIDES-CDPP) received 135 seats out of 199 (thus securing a constitutional majority), the electoral bloc of the left-liberal opposition "Together for Hungary" ("Democratic coalition", "Jobbik", Hungarian Socialist Party, "Momentum", "Dialogue for Hungary", "Green Party of Hungary") - 57 seats, right-wing radical party "Our Motherland" - 6 seats, representative of the All-Hungarian self-government of the German national minority - 1 seat . The highest body of government is the Government, headed by the Prime Minister, who is approved by parliament at the proposal of the party that wins the elections, and is the main official in the country. On May 16, 2022, Fidesz leader Viktor ORBAN was re-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary for a fourth term. In the country’s 2022 elections the president was elected to a five-year term by parliament, and under a single-round national system, 199 members of parliament were elected, with the ruling parties gaining a fourth consecutive two-thirds supermajority. The ODIHR observed that a “pervasive overlap between the ruling coalition and the government” blurred the line between state and party, and unequal voter distribution amongst the constituencies, “challenges the principle of equality of the vote.” No review of constituency boundaries was performed during the year. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE ODIHR) report on the 2022 elections noted several problems with media influence that “significantly limited” campaign opportunities for groups other than the ruling parties, with “extensive government advertising campaigns and biased news coverage in the public and many private media” resulting in a “pervasive campaign platform for the ruling party.” The National Information Center, an intelligence agency under the oversight of the cabinet office of the prime minister, produced a series of reports alleging foreign actors had been interfering in the country’s elections since 2014. Observers criticized the reports as politically biased and noted declassified documents contained few specifics. In May 2022 parliament amended the constitution to allow the cabinet to declare a state of emergency under which it could rule by decree, which it did following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The state of emergency granted the government authorities to bypass normal legislative processes, including on issues unrelated to the state of emergency such as budgetary decisions. Viktor Orban held a meeting 09 March 2024 with former US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida Friday. According to Bertalan Havasi, spokesman for the head of government, they spoke for an hour. They were accompanied by their closest staff members, the spokesman said. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, among others, also accompanied the Prime Minister to Florida. Before the trip to the US Hungarian officials said they would discuss the situation in Ukraine and the relations between the US and Hungary. The Hungarian government had made no secret of its desire for Trump to win the November election and return to the White House. It associates with the former US president hopes for the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict and the improvement of bilateral relations. During this trip to the United States Orban visited Washington, D.C. on March 7, where he delivered a speech at conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. A meeting with US President Joe Biden was not on his program; Orban came to the US not at Biden’s invitation but to meet his political opponent and likely rival in the November elections once again. Experts consider the situation almost unprecedented for a NATO ally. During a presidential campaign stop in Pennsylvania in early March 2024, US President Joe Biden claimed that Orban "doesn't think democracy works and is looking for dictatorship." Biden's remarks prompted the Hungarian government to summon US Ambassador David Pressman to protest the derogatory comments. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto lambasted Washington and stressed that Budapest "is not obliged to tolerate lies, even from the president of the United States." The term "dictator" and "dictatorship" is routinely used by the US leaders and foreign policy establishment to smear "undesired" governments worldwide. The protests against Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban seemed to be copied from the same playbook as those in January against neighboring Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico. “What is going on in Budapest is an exact copy of what we had in Slovakia,” says Peter Marcek, former deputy of Slovak parliament and chairman of Slavs’ Unity party. “They want the opposition to get back to power, using foreign money. And the opposition is totally pro-EU and pro-US.” Anti-government protests in Budapest had a strong resemblance to external powers' actions that are aimed at rocking "undesired" governments, some observers argued. Thousands of Hungarian protesters marched in Budapest in early April 2024 to express their dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Peter Magyar, called by the American state-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty a "rising challenger" to the Hungarian prime minister, led the rally. He announced the creation of a coalition of liberals, conservatives and fragmented opposition leaders to run against Orban in the European Parliament (EP) election in June. "Step by step, brick by brick, we are taking back our homeland and building a new country, a sovereign, modern, European Hungary," Magyar told the crowd, as quoted by the media. He accused the government of corruption and lack of independence. UK newspaper The Guardian drew attention to the fact that the rally differed from the nation's "normal opposition demonstrations" by being quite entertaining: "music from a mafia TV show played while images of Hungary’s political elites flashed on a giant screen," with the crowd enjoying poetry, singing and listening to speeches during the event. Hungary had never experienced such a protest movement since Viktor Orban's return to power fourteen years ago. At its head: Péter Magyar, former senior official in the Orban government, who entered into rebellion. On 05 May 2024, nearly 10,000 Hungarians came to listen to him in Debrecen, the country's second city and stronghold of Fidesz, the party of the nationalist Prime Minister. After drawing tens of thousands of people into the streets of Budapest, Péter Magyar, a 43-year-old conservative lawyer who slams the corruption of the ruling elite, is leading a tour of the regions.
The fact that the opposition rallies commanded support in Budapest is hardly surprising given that Hungary's most pro-European, pro-Euro-Atlantic voters reside there, according to Vadim Trukhachev, a political scientist and associate professor of the Faculty of International Relations and Foreign Regional Studies of the Russian State University for the Humanities. "Budapest is the only region of Hungary where Orban was defeated in the elections 22 years ago, and even before that," Trukhachev told Sputnik. "Therefore, it is not surprising that such rallies are taking place in Budapest. Moreover, pro-Western voters live there, more looking to the outside world and less clinging to national roots and national traditions."
For June 9, 2024, the date on which the European and municipal elections will be held, the Debout les Hungarians party will not be able to run because it was not able to register in time, but observers imagined that the opponent joins the list of another party competing for these elections.
In view of the European elections on 09 June 2024, 25% of voters sure of their choice said they would vote for Péter Magyar, according to a survey carried out by the Median institute among 1,000 people. His party, Tisza (Respect and Freedom), which wants to be “ neither left nor right ” is in second position, behind that of Viktor Orban .
In Hungary, the Orban system was called into question by one of his own. Péter Magyar, former Fidesz executive, has just founded a new political movement, “Stand Up Hungarians”, which he wishes to transform into a centrist party. At 43, barely out on the public stage, with his revelations about the backstage of power and his denunciation of corruption, he quickly won over part of the electorate.
In a few weeks, Péter Magyar has risen to the forefront of the Hungarian political scene and is not sparing in his criticism of the ruling class: “ There is a moral, political and economic crisis in Hungary . The majority of Hungarians have lost confidence in the entire political elite that has ruled the country for 30 years ,” he said from a stage set up in the heart of Budapest, in front of an imposing crowd, on March 15. The forty-year-old with a sporty appearance, dressed to the nines, chose the day of the national holiday when the Hungarians commemorated the rebellion of 1848 against the Habsburg empire, to launch his movement.
Lawyer, senior civil servant, diplomat, member of Viktor Orban 's party , the young technocrat has never held political office. “ He is in a way a political outsider while also being a man in the inner circle , ” notes Matyas Kohán, commentator on Hungarian political life. “ He was diplomatic. He represented Hungary to the EU in Brussels, then held operational positions and worked in various state-owned enterprises, without ever having played a direct political role. Basically, he is riding the waves of disillusionment and discontent which affect both the opposition and the government camp ,” explains this columnist to Mandiner , a conservative news site which assumes its proximity to the Orban government.
The public began hearing about Péter Magyar in February, in the wake of a scandal involving his ex-wife, former Justice Minister Judith Varga. The latter, who was to lead the Fidesz European election campaign, announced her withdrawal from public life, after the resignation of President Katalin Novak , accused of having discreetly granted a pardon to a former deputy director of a home for children, sentenced to more than three years in prison for covering up the actions of his superior.
Péter Magyar then protested against what he presents as a brutal abandonment of the two most influential women in the country. In protest, he resigned from two public companies where he held management positions and from the supervisory board of MBH Bank, one of the country's most important financial institutions. He says he no longer wants to be part of a system in which “ the real leaders hide behind women's skirts”.
The next day, he went further in criticizing the Orban system, on the Partizan YouTube channel , one of the few independent media outlets. Facing the interviewer, in a calm tone, Péter Magyar details for more than an hour and a half the corruption in Hungarian political and economic circles. He talks about the bribes during calls for tenders or the pressure he suffered during his divorce. He particularly attacks the very influential member of Viktor Orban's cabinet Antal Rogán, baptized by his detractors " Minister of Propaganda ", who also controls all of the country's intelligence services.
“ In 48 hours, this interview was watched more than two million times. This is almost half of the total number of Hungarian voters , ” underlines Botond Feledy, contributor to this media and researcher at the Center for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy in Budapest. He then lifts the veil on the system by giving a “ very harsh image ”.
Péter Magyar was one of the most prominent figures in Hungary today. His revelations have the country in suspense. According to an Index survey, he is credited with 13% of voting intentions among voters who know him. Defining himself as a right-wing conservative who "can no longer bear to see the leaders pillage and destroy the country ", his chances of success with Fidezs voters are however not guaranteed, according to Matyas Kohán: " Fidesz is sufficiently solid for he is not an attractive candidate for his voters. But this in no way means that he would not have the power to mobilize a large number of voters, perhaps even 500,000 or 700,000 new voters among those who had been passive until then. His public appearances over the past two weeks have brought him attention that opposition politicians can only dream of ,” the Mandiner journalist points out .
Will Péter Magyar succeed, as a former member of Fidesz, in attracting conservative voters disappointed by the government? “ This is the big question for his political future , ” says Botond Feledy, who notes that for the moment, polls indicate that he is not managing to win more than 2% of the votes of voters from Viktor Orban's party. Most of his supporters are left-wing voters. “ Internal polls carried out by certain political parties show that the overwhelming majority of its current supporters did not vote for Fidesz in the last legislative elections , ” notes Matyas Kohán. His new political formation would therefore a priori be more embarrassing for the opposition than for the ruling party. “ If his presence on the political scene contributes to fragmenting the opposition a little more, it will not be a revolution, but if he succeeds in attracting the disappointed Fidesz, it will be something else, ” predicts the researcher, who emphasizes that “ That doesn’t seem to be the case yet . ”
Among the points of his program: the reestablishment of the Ministry of Education, abolished by the current government, the return to independence of the audiovisual sector and Hungary's membership in the European Public Prosecutor's Office responsible for controlling the use of funds Europeans. Unlike Prime Minister Viktor Orban, he called for a constructive dialogue with Brussels.
With his growing notoriety and his revelations about the system, personal attacks are increasing. He is today cited in a case of domestic violence revealed in the opposition press. If he failed to manage it, this episode “ could very well lead to the end of his political career ”, predicts Matyas Kohán. Political manipulation or proven facts? In any case, he will have to learn to manage personal attacks, which is not yet the case, notes Botond Feledy who notes that he was unable to keep calm in the face of an opposition journalist. who wanted to question him about this case of domestic violence. “ He has all the qualities required to launch a movement ,” says the researcher. “ It remains to learn how to respond to personal attacks in a more diplomatic way.»
Orbán's grip in Hungary is weaker than ever, and a formidable challenger, Peter Magyar, is seen as a threat in the April 2026 elections. An October poll by Kutatóközpont and a November poll by Median put the ruling Fidesz party in a close race with the opposition Tisza party , led by a previously unknown former government supporter, Peter Magyar, who is now a member of the European Parliament . A Kutatóközpont poll gives the Tisza party a 2% lead , while a Median poll gives the opposition a 7% lead but no outright majority. Despite Orbán's overwhelming rule, elections across the country are held with opposition participation, and those who pass the 5% threshold receive money from the state budget.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
