Hungary's leader claims mandate, dismissing EU concerns
Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n won a second term Sunday. He brushed aside international criticism of tilting the playing field rightward against opposition parties.
Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n won a second term Sunday. He brushed aside international criticism of tilting the playing field rightward against opposition parties.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n was elected to a second consecutive term聽on Sunday, amid criticism from international observers that the ruling party 鈥渆njoyed an undue advantage鈥� during the campaign.
With 99 percent of the votes processed, the ruling Fidesz party and its coalition partner the 海角大神 Democrats secured 133 of the 199 seats in parliament, just enough for a two-thirds majority.
Fidesz won almost the same percent of parliamentary seats as in 2010. But it garnered聽just 44 percent of the popular vote this time around, compared with 53 percent 聽four years ago. It held on to its supermajority because of the new winner-take-all electoral system.
Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Economic Cooperation in Europe criticized the changes to the election law and campaign rules introduced by the government.聽Political advertising on commercial television was absent, and broadcast media coverage聽was biased in favor of Fidesz, the OSCE concluded, limiting media access for the opposition.
鈥淭he substantial legal changes, the restrictive campaign regulations, biased media coverage, and the blurred separation between party and state, resulted in an undue advantage for the main governing party,鈥� Audrey Glover, head of the mission, said Monday.
Mr. Orb谩n, however, was unfazed by the charges. 鈥淎n overwhelming majority was granted to us, so I think there鈥檚 nothing to discuss," he said at a press conference. "If experts wish to elaborate on this more, they can do so but it falls outside of my work.鈥�
Orb谩n asserted that the results of the election mean that Hungarian voters 鈥渟aid yes鈥� to the new measures and laws, including the new Constitution. He also predicted that Hungary鈥檚 relationship with the European Union, with which the prime minister has occasionally clashed, 鈥渧ery likely will be in the future as it was in the past," adding that he sees some conflict with the EU as 鈥渃ompletely natural."
A clear-cut victory?聽
Fidesz won all but 10 of the 106 constituency seats that were decided based on the new voting system. The remaining 93 seats are decided through a party list system based on proportional representation, where Fidesz won 37 seats.
Fidesz鈥檚 main rival, a five-party leftist coalition, had a dismal showing, winning 26 percent of the votes and 38 total seats in parliament. And while the far-right Jobbik party came in third place with 20.7 percent and 23 seats in parliament, its showing was higher than in 2010, when Jobbik received 16.7 percent of the votes. Some speculated the party, accused of being anti-Roma and anti-Semitic, may have benefited from聽the softer image it tried to project to voters during the campaign.
The small green party managed to reach the 5 percent threshold required to stay in parliament.
On Sunday, leaders on the left reiterated their belief that the election was 鈥渦nfair,鈥� and Socialist head Attila Mesterh谩zy refused to congratulate Orb谩n.
Voter turnout was 61 percent, down from 64 percent in 2010.
About 63,000 ballots were counted from voters in neighboring countries who recently received Budapest's permission to attain dual citizenship and vote in national elections by mail. About 60,000 of them supported Fidesz.