Hungary’s Orban tipped for re-election, but upset not ruled out
Budapest, (MILLAT ONLINE):Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of Europe’s most controversial leaders, looks set to win a third consecutive term in an election on Sunday, despite uncertainty over tactical voting and turnout that could trigger an upset.
At a final campaign event on Friday in the city of Szekesfehervar, southwest of Budapest, Orban urged his supporters to turn out to vote.
“It’s not enough to be ahead in the polls, we have to come first on voting day too,” he said, recalling his party’s loss in a 2002 election despite having been considered the favourites beforehand.
The strongman nationalist’s Fidesz party enjoys opinion poll leads of between 20 and 30 percentage points over its closest rival Jobbik, a far-right party led by Gabor Vona that has been moving towards the centre, and the leftist Socialists with their candidate Gergely Karacsony.
The first results are expected to emerge one or two hours after polls close at 1700 GMT Sunday, with broader trends only emerging slowly over the course of the evening.
“Rational logic suggests Fidesz will win, but there is something in the air that points toward a surprise,” analyst Gabor Torok said Friday.