Hungary at the polls, Orban aims for fourth term: “I expect a great victory”

Ballots open today in Hungary, where Viktor Orban is aiming for a fourth term, becoming the EU’s longest-serving prime minister, following the withdrawal of Angela Merkel. “The opposition is” dangerous “and” we ask everyone to vote for those parties that are able to guarantee peace and security. “Thus the Hungarian premier, Viktor Orban, after having voted with his wife in his polling station in Budapest, in a leafy neighborhood in the Buda hills, repeating the mantra he repeated during the election campaign, which is that only he and his Fidesz party can protect Hungary’s interests while the war rages in neighboring Ukraine. “What I expect is a great victory, this is what the country needs “, said Orban. There are about 10,200 polling stations throughout Hungary, with 9.7 million voters. The latter could add about 300,000 votes for correspondence by Hungarians residing abroad. 199 deputies are elected, 106 of whom in single-member constituencies with a dry majority, 93 with the proportional system with a 5% barrier. n total, there are 6 lists: in addition to Fidesz (Orban’s party) and the opposition alliance United for Hungary (socialists, social democrats, liberals, greens and nationalist centrists), there is a list of the extreme right (Movimento della Patria), a party called the Two-Tailed Dog, a no-vax party, one funded by a billionaire in the porn industry (Movement for the Solution) and an ally of Fidesz. Lists, the latter, which could steal some votes from the opposition alliance. On the single-member card, there are a total of 664 candidates, 6-7 for each constituency. To win, at least 55 out of 106 constituencies must be conquered.