By 5:00 p.m., the absolute record of turnout in the elections held today in Hungary was broken.
74.23 percent of voters, or 5,587,935 people, went to the elections.
This already surpassed the previous record from 2002, when the total turnout was 73.5 percent.
For comparison, in the 2022 election, turnout at 5 p.m. was 62.9 percent.
Hungarian media note that in 2002, the last data during the day were published at 5:30 p.m., so there are no directly comparable data for 5 p.m., but the then record in the second round was 67.87 percent.
About 7.5 million citizens in the country have the right to vote, as well as more than 500,000 abroad.
Preliminary results are expected shortly after polling stations close at 7 p.m., while the vast majority of votes could be processed by 11 p.m.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed satisfaction with the large turnout of voters, stressing that the high turnout shows the importance of today’s elections. In an address via social networks, he called on citizens to support his Fidesz party and stressed that “peace and security of the state” are key issues.
Two main political options are participating in the elections – the ruling Fidesz, led by Orbán, and the opposition, pro-European Tisza party headed by Peter Magyar.
Citizens elect a total of 199 members of parliament in 106 constituencies. The electoral threshold for entering the parliament is five percent of the vote, while the prime minister is elected by a simple majority in the parliament, on the proposal of the president.
The deadline for the publication of the final results is the beginning of May, while the preliminary results are expected already this evening.
(Vijesti.ba)
