Péter Magyar Defeats Viktor Orbán, Wins Two-Thirds Majority in Hungary Election

Hungary's 16-year chapter under Viktor Orbán ended in a historic election that saw Péter Magyar's center-right Tisza party secure a two-thirds supermajority.

The election was marked by a record turnout of 79.5%, the highest since the fall of communism.

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Orbán conceded less than three hours after polls closed, calling the result painful but unambiguous.

Magyar told jubilant supporters that together we have liberated Hungary.

The victory sets the stage for Magyar to roll back Orbán's illiberal democracy and restore Hungary's ties with the EU and NATO.

Magyar's victory is widely seen as a repudiation of Orbán's illiberal rule.

Orbán rewrote election rules, packed the courts, turned 80% of the media into government mouthpieces.

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Magyar vowed to pursue those who plundered, looted, betrayed, indebted and ruined the country.

He pledged to amend the constitution to limit prime ministerial terms to two, applied retroactively to bar Orbán.

EU leaders reacted enthusiastically, with von der Leyen declaring today Europe is Hungarian.

Orbán was a close ally of Trump and Putin, and his defeat removes a key obstacle to EU unity.

One of Magyar's first acts will likely be to lift Hungary's veto on EU funding for Ukraine.

Orbán had blocked a €90 billion loan to Kyiv after agreeing to it in December.

Ukrainian President Zelensky congratulated Magyar and expressed readiness for joint constructive work.

Magyar said he would speak with Putin if called and tell him to end the war.

The election result was greeted with relief across Europe.

The German government called it a good day that sent a clear signal against rightwing populism.

Orbán's defeat has reverberated far beyond Hungary's borders.

The election was a setback for MAGA-style politics.

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It also deprives Putin of his most sympathetic ear inside the EU.

Magyar joins an eclectic club of successful insurgents across the globe.

The Guardian noted the victory could help unshackle the 27-nation EU.