Hungary casts ballots in parliamentary elections

BUDAPEST — Hungary's parliamentary elections kicked off on Sunday, with about 8.1 million eligible voters, according to the National Election Office.

About 7.6 million voters can cast ballots in person at more than 10,000 polling stations nationwide, while some 500,000 voters eligible for mail-in voting have already begun voting by post.

Voting would continue until 7 pm on Sunday (Monday morning, Beijing time), with vote counting to begin after polls close and initial results expected later in the evening.

A total of five parties or alliances are competing in the election. The latest opinion polls showed relatively strong support for the country's ruling alliance of Fidesz and the Christian Democratic People's Party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as well as for the opposition party Tisza, led by Peter Magyar.

Europe is facing multiple overlapping crises, and Hungary needs "strong national unity" to cope with energy, financial and economic pressures, Orban said after casting his ballot at a polling station in Budapest.

He said that he had come to win, but stressed that if opposition leader Magyar received more votes, he would accept the result, adding that "the will of the people must be respected".

Magyar urged supporters to remain "calm, positive and composed" after casting his vote in Budapest and called on Hungarians to turn out for what he described as a historic election.

"There will be a change of system in Hungary," he said, pledging that, if elected, his government would move quickly on anti-corruption measures, seek Hungary's accession to the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and push for the release of frozen European Union funds.

Among smaller parties, the far-right Our Homeland Movement is seen as having a chance of entering parliament, while others, including the Democratic Coalition and the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party, are generally considered unlikely to clear the threshold.

Xinhua