Record voter turnout as Hungary’s Viktor Orban fights for political survival

6 hours ago 4

Democracy Dies in Darkness

The president and vice president strongly backed Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Kremlin ally and E.U. antagonist, but he trails in polls after 16 years in power.

Updated

April 12, 2026 at 2:10 p.m. EDTjust now

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses the crowd at a final campaign rally in Budapest on Saturday, one day before parliamentary elections. (Janos Kummer/Getty Images)

In an election that has President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin rooting for the same outcome, Hungarians turned out in record numbers on Sunday for a vote that will decide the fate of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the self-proclaimed champion of illiberal Christian democracy who is a darling of MAGA-aligned American conservatives, an ally of the Kremlin and a proud antagonist of European Union leaders in Brussels.weak economy