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TRANSCRIPT
"Dear friends, what this election result means for the fate of the homeland and the nation, and what its deeper or higher meaning is, this we don’t know. Only time will tell. But no matter how it turned out, we will also serve our country and the Hungarian nation, from the opposition.”
That's Hungary's Prime Minister for the last 16 years, Viktor Orban, conceding defeat to conservative Peter Magyar in parliamentary elections.
Mr Orban is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been strongly supported by US President Donald Trump.
He also describes himself as a thorn in the side of the European Union.
But Mr Orban says painful though it may be, the election result is clear, and the responsibility and possibility of governing has not been given to his Fidesz party.
“The task that lies before us is clear. The weight of governance is not on our shoulders, so our job is to strengthen our communities. Two million five hundred thousand voters trusted us. We want to give them this message: we will never let them down. (SUPPORTERS CLAPPING) And I don’t even need to say, since we have been together for more than 30 years. We've lived difficult and easy, beautiful and sad years. But there is one thing everyone should know, here and in the whole country: We'll never give up. Never, never, never. We will never give up!”
Peter Magyar was cautiously optimistic before the results came in.
"I greet everyone with respect on this historic day. As we promised, as we hoped, Hungary and many millions of people today, April 12, 2026, 23 years to the day after the referendum in Hungary on our accession to the European Union, are writing history again.”
With votes in almost 67 per cent of precincts counted, Mr Magyar's party is projected to gain 137 seats, or more than two-thirds of all 199 parliamentary seats.
Mr Orban focused on making Ukraine the central topic of his campaign, portraying the neighbouring country, which is fighting off a Russian invasion, as "hostile" to Hungary.
He also vowed to continue his crackdown against "fake civil society organisations, bought journalists, judges (and) politicians".
When Mr Magyar burst onto the political scene just two years ago, he promised to fight corruption and offered better public services, which brought popular support against a backdrop of economic stagnation.
He says now, things will change:
"Hungarians today said no to deception, to lies, to misdirection, and said no to betrayal. Dear friends! Two years ago, a few people set out, and in the end, in the battle of David and Goliath, love triumphed, because in the end, love always triumphs.”
Both camps have alleged foreign interference during the campaign.
US Vice President JD Vance visited Hungary this week to rally with Orban, attacking what he described as interference by Brussels bureaucrats.
But whether that appearance was a help or a hindrance to the campaign, the Hungarian people have said they are ready for change.
These voters told SBS News they were looking forward to a new chapter.
MAN 1: "Now we are finally standing here in the gates of a new world, and yeah, we, we need the change. "
MAN 2: "This is a completely new beginning, and also this is a regime change. So in the '90s, in the early '90s, that was Hungary's hope, but now we have a second."
WOMAN 1: "So fed up with Viktor Orbán and all of his government. Like, they did not deliver in the 16 years that they was voted, but, like, in the last four years it was horrible."
WOMAN 2: "Hope things will change for the better. I just really want this place to be, like, a nice place to raise kids, to maybe, for the young people who left, a good place to come back to and to just keep living our lives.
WOMAN 3: I have mixed feelings about the party that's probably going to win because they're centrist and that's not what I am aligned with politically, but this is our best chance of moving forward, and I think, I think we can hope in some positive changes."
The result has been greeted warmly by Hungary's European neighbours.
Writing on social media, Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Hungarians have made a historic choice for a free and strong Hungary in a united Europe.
Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob says Peter Magyar's victory over right-wing populism is a great victory for Hungary and its future.
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready to advance cooperation with Hungary - a marked difference to the relationship under Mr Orban.
And European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she welcomes the election result; and she sees it as a sign that Hungary is reclaiming its European path, strengthening the European Union.
