Polls open in Hungary in key election that could unseat Orban

Budapest: Hungarians were casting ballots Sunday in what is widely seen as Europe’s most consequential election this year, a vote that could unseat populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of US President Donald Trump, after 16 years in power.

It’s a key moment for Orban, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has travelled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.

Polls opened at 6 am local time and were scheduled to close at 7 pm Orban and his top challenger, Peter Magyar, arrived at separate polling stations in Budapest at nearly the same time to cast their votes.

Speaking to reporters outside, Orban, 62, said the campaign had been “a great national moment on our side” and thanked activists and supporters for their work.

“I’m here to win,” he said.

The election was being closely watched in countries around Europe and beyond, which is a testament to the outsize role Orban occupies in far-right populist politics worldwide.

Members of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement are among those who see Orban’s government and his Fidesz political party as shining examples of conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is reviled by advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law.

After casting his vote, Magyar told reporters that the election was “a choice between East or West, propaganda or honest public discourse, corruption or clean public life.”