BUDAPEST: Viktor Orban, who has ruled Hungary for 16 years as a self-described &quot;thorn&quot; in the EU&#39;s side and a defender of &quot;illiberal democracy,&quot; on Sunday conceded defeat to conservative Peter Magyar, who won a thumping majority in parliamentary elections. Orban&#39;s defeat, in a vote that saw a record turnout, dealt a heavy blow to nationalists. It also deprives Russian President Vladimir Putin of his most sympathetic ear inside the European Union. Tens of thousands of jubilant supporters of Magyar&#39;s Tisza party cheered the results outside the party&#39;s election headquarters on the banks of the Danube in Budapest, waving Hungarian flags and dancing, as car horns sounded in the capital. &quot;I feel fantastic!&quot; Zoltan Sziromi, a 20-year-old student, celebrating in the crowd, told AFP. &quot;We&#39;ve finally got rid of that system, and it was about time.&quot; Magyar, who arrived waving the Hungarian flag, told the cheering crowd that voters had &quot;liberated Hungary,&quot; calling his party&#39;s win a &quot;miracle&quot; in the central European country of 9.5 million people. &quot;Today, the Hungarian people have said &#39;yes&#39; to Europe,&quot; the 45-year-old former government insider and political newcomer told supporters. He promised to &quot;restore the system of checks and balances..., guarantee the democratic functioning of our country&quot; and put Hungary &quot;back on track.&quot; Acknowledging it was an &quot;enormous&quot; task, he called for unity, saying the victory belonging to &quot;all Hungarians.&quot; &#39;Unambiguous&#39;&nbsp;With 98.15% of precincts counted, Tisza secured a two-thirds majority with 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament on 53.6% of the vote, according to official election results. Orban&#39;s Fidesz took 55 seats on 37.9% of the vote. Earlier Sunday, Orban, 62, conceded defeat. &quot;The election results, though not yet final, are clear and understandable; for us, they are painful but unambiguous,&quot; Orban, 62, told reporters. &quot;We have not been entrusted with the responsibility and opportunity to govern. I congratulated the winning party,&quot; he said. Turnout in the election reached a record 79.50%, according to the near-complete vote count. Orban, who was seeking a fifth straight term, has transformed his country into a model of &quot;illiberal democracy,&quot; clashing with Brussels over rule-of-law issues, as well as over support for war-torn Ukraine. Magyar burst onto the scene just two years ago, promising to fight corruption and offering better public services. He drew support against a backdrop of economic stagnation, and despite an electoral system skewed in favor of Orban&#39;s Fidesz party. Congratulations for Magyar poured in from around Europe, with France and Germany urging him to work together for a &quot;strong Europe.&quot; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to work with Magyar &quot;for the benefit of both nations, as well as peace, security, and stability in Europe.&quot; &quot;Hungary has chosen Europe,&quot; head of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, posted on X. Ahead of the vote, both Orban&#39;s and Magyar&#39;s camps had alleged foreign interference during the campaign. &#39;Defeat for authoritarianism&#39;&nbsp;Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, said Oran&#39;s defeat was a major blow to those who have looked to Viktor Orban&#39;s corrupt model as a blueprint. &quot;This is a resounding defeat for authoritarianism that echoes far beyond Hungary&#39;s borders,&quot; Tanden added. Orban had focused on making Ukraine the central topic of his campaign, portraying the neighboring country, which is fighting off a Russian invasion, as &quot;hostile&quot; to Hungary. He had also vowed to continue his crackdown against &quot;fake civil society organizations, bought journalists, judges (and) politicians.&quot; Fidesz supporters gathered for the results-watching event in Budapest were stunned. &quot;I am a Fidesz supporter with all my heart,&quot; Juliana Varga Szabo, a 58-year-old teacher, told AFP, tears in her eyes, saying that perhaps she had been living in a &quot;bubble.&quot; &quot;Now that bubble is burst. I won&#39;t change my values. We&#39;ll just have to see what the future brings,&quot; she added.

Europe

Tens of thousands of jubilant supporters of Magyar's Tisza party cheer results outside the party's election headquarters on the banks of the Danube in Budapest, waving Hungarian flags and dancing, as car horns sounded in the capital.



Orban loses Hungary vote to pro-Europe newcomer after 16 years in power

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump handed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a one-year exemption from sanctions for buying Russian oil and gas after the close right-wing allies held a chummy White House meeting on Friday.&nbsp;Trump slapped sanctions on Moscow&#39;s two largest oil companies in October after losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his refusal to end the nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;But while Trump has pushed other European countries to stop buying oil that he says funds Moscow&#39;s war machine, Orban used his first trip to the White House since Trump&#39;s return to power to push for special treatment.&nbsp;As they heaped praise on each other, Trump said he was considering an exemption because landlocked Hungary had to rely on pipelines that made it dependent on Russian oil and gas.&nbsp;&quot;As you know they don&#39;t have the advantage of having sea,&quot; Trump told reporters.&nbsp;Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after the meeting that Washington had granted a &quot;full and unlimited exemption from sanctions on oil and gas.&quot;&nbsp;But a White House official told AFP that Hungary&#39;s exemption was only for one year.&nbsp;Hungary had meanwhile committed to purchasing US liquified natural gas worth around $600 million, the official said.&nbsp;MiracleThe Hungarian prime minister has maintained close ties with both Moscow and Washington, while often bucking the rest of the EU on pressuring Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;Orban offered to host a summit in Budapest between Trump and Putin, although the US leader called it off in October and hit Moscow with sanctions for the first time in his presidency.&nbsp;At the White House, Orban pressed his case that Russian energy was vital for Hungary. &quot;Pipeline is not an ideological or political issue. It&#39;s a physical reality because we don&#39;t have port(s),&quot; Orban said.&nbsp;Washington has given firms who work with Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil one month to cut ties or face secondary sanctions, which would deny them access to US banks, traders, shippers and insurers.&nbsp;Orban also said it would take a &quot;miracle&quot; for Ukraine to beat Moscow, underscoring the gulf between him and other European leaders on the war.&nbsp;Respect HungaryTrump meanwhile wholeheartedly backed Orban on the touchstone issue of migration, saying that the Hungarian&#39;s European Union counterparts should show him more respect.&nbsp;Orban has long thumbed his nose at the EU over migration. He has also refused to send military aid to Ukraine and opposes Kyiv&#39;s EU bid, and has had frequent run-ins with Brussels on the rule of law and other issues.&nbsp;&quot;I think they should respect Hungary and respect this leader very, very strongly because he&#39;s been right on immigration,&quot; Trump told reporters.&nbsp;Trump, who has carried out a sweeping crackdown on immigration at home, again alleged a link between migrants and crime, which is not backed up by statistics in the United States.&nbsp;Orban visited his &quot;dear friend&quot; Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida three times last year, but the US president&#39;s return to power has had a mixed effect on Hungary.&nbsp;Washington has withdrawn sanctions against top Orban aide Antal Rogan and restored the country&#39;s status in a visa waiver scheme.&nbsp;But Trump&#39;s tariffs against the European Union have hit Hungary&#39;s export-oriented car industry hard, contributing to an already weak economy.&nbsp;Experts said the meeting with the US president was expected to give at least a &quot;symbolic&quot; win to Orban, who faces an unprecedented challenge to his 15-year rule ahead of elections next spring amid economic stagnation.

Americas

US president says he is considering an exemption because landlocked Hungary has to rely on pipelines that make it dependent on Russian oil and gas.

Articles tagged with "Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban"

Orban loses Hungary vote to pro-Europe newcomer after 16 years in power

Trump gives Hungary's Orban one-year Russia oil sanctions reprieve

Orban loses Hungary vote to pro-Europe newcomer after 16 years in power