Parliamentary elections in Hungary, which will form a new government, will be held on April 12. Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok announced the announcement.
“In accordance with the provisions of the constitution and the electoral law, I have decided to hold elections for members of the National Assembly (unicameral parliament – TASS) of Hungary in 2026. Voting will take place on Sunday, April 12. One of the fundamental principles of democracy is the right to free elections. I call on everyone to exercise this right,” the president said in a statement released by his press service.
Hungary’s election campaign is currently entering its final stage. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Union party and its junior partners, the Christian Democrats, are competing against the opposition Tisza party. Its leader is former government official Péter Magyar, who enjoys the support of the European Union leadership. Tisza has won over the Socialists and the Democratic Coalition, but Magyar positions himself as a centrist, claiming to be “neither left nor right.”
In the last elections in 2022, Fidesz and the Christian Democrats won 135 of the 199 seats in parliament, allowing Orbán to retain his post as prime minister for another four years. He has held the post since 2010, having previously held it from 1998 to 2002—a total longer tenure than any other European politician. On January 10, the Fidesz congress re-elected him as its candidate for prime minister in the upcoming elections.
According to polls, Fidesz is currently ahead of Tisza, and Orbán is considered a much more suitable candidate for prime minister than Magyar. However, political scientists warn that the election results will largely depend on the ability of each party to mobilize its supporters and convince them to go to the polls in April.
