Hungary elections live: Magyar says party has ‘reclaimed our country’ as Orban is ousted after 16 years

European Commission president is the first of Europe’s leaders to react to the critical election result, which is set to reshape Budapest’s relations with the EU.

It’s a post full of dramatic pauses from the European Commission president, who is rejoicing in the victory of pro-EU Peter Magyar.

“Hungary has chosen Europe,” she writes. “Europe has always chosen Hungary. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.

“Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together we are stronger. A country returns to its European path. The Union becomes stronger.”

Elon Musk lamented Victor Orban’s defeat in a post on X.

“Soros Organization has taken over Hungary,” the billionaire wrote.

Billionaire financier and major Democratic donor ‌George Soros, a Hungarian immigrant to the US, has long been vilified by ​many conservatives.

Peter Magyar is widely seen as an “insider” turned dissident of the Fidesz party and has leant into this narrative, telling the BBC in 2024, “After a while, I became more and more critical, openly and just among friends. I can tell you that the Fidesz we see today is very, very different from the one I joined in 2002.”

“I was always told by the politicians it’s necessary to keep power – I accepted it for a time. But of course, the turning point was in 2024.”

Magyar’s “Now or never” slogan dates back to a revolutionary poet’s 19th-century rallying cry to rise for the homeland.

He has promised to tackle corruption, improve the economy, and sought to gain support from Hungary’s disadvantaged Roma community.

The Tizsa leader has also pledged to unlock billions of euros in EU funds.

Seldom has Europe seen an election quite like this. As Hungary heads to the polls today not only are Moscow and Washington on the same side but they are throwing the kitchen sink at securing their man Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule an extension. Never before has a US vice-president campaigned for one side like JD Vance has just in Budapest. Nor for a while have we seen Vladimir Putin issue such a flurry of promises and concessions amid an intense disinformation campaign and reports of Russian agents operating on Hungarian soil. They are doing this because Orbán matters to the cause they both share: keeping the European Union divided and proving that right-wing semi-authoritarianism can thrive.

We can bring you more now from Peter Magyar, who is set to take over as Hungary’s new prime minster.

Hungarians have said “yes to Europe”, he says.

“As we promised, as we hoped, today, on April 12, 2026, Hungary and several million people made history again.”

He notes the election was won “exactly 23 years to the day after there was a referendum on joining the European Union in Hungary”.

“Together, we liberated Hungary and got rid of the Orbán regime,” he added to a crowd of supporters.

We’ve now had 81.5 per cent of the votes counted, and results show Peter Magyar’s Tisza party winning 137 seats.

This would mean it hits the crucial two-thirds majority mark, in what is a 199-member parliament.

Election official say a record 79 per cent or more of the electorate turned out to vote.

“It’s incredibly exciting,” 24-year-old Dorina Nyul, who attended the Tisza election night event, told Reuters news agency.

“It feels like this is our first and last chance in a really long time to actually change the system. And it’s, I can’t even describe the feeling.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey wrote on X: “Trump, Putin, Farage… your boy took a hell of a beating.

“Congratulations to the people of Hungary for showing that populist extremists can be defeated – even despite Donald Trump’s best efforts.”

Sir Ed also mocked US vice-president JD Vance’s intervention in the campaign, in which he endorsed Mr Orban during a visit to Budapest earlier this month.

He added: “Has anyone noticed that wherever JD Vance goes, he just makes a mess.

“In Munich he insulted European allies. In Greenland he turned everyone against Trump. And now he’s helped Viktor Orban lose re-election.

“Maybe better to spend more time on the couch @VP?”

We can now bring you some more reaction coming in from leaders across Europe.

Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere: “I congratulate Peter Magyar and Tisza on their victory in the Hungarian parliamentary elections – a result with great importance to all of Europe. I look forward to close and constructive cooperation in pursuing peace and stability, democracy and the rule of law on our continent.”

Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo: “In democratic elections, the Hungarian people have demonstrated their strong will to be an active member of European Union and NATO. The election result gives Hungary the opportunity to return to our community of values and security as a constructive actor.”

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda: “Big win for Hungary! Big win for Europe! Congratulations to @magyarpeterMP. There are a lot of things we could and should do for the sake of democracy, justice and peace.”