Hungarian Election Results Recap

Fidesz Keeps 2/3 Parliamentary Majority and Far-Right Gains Ground

Viktor Orban, Hungary's Prime Minister

Hungary had their parliamentary elections on Sunday, April 6 and the results were both expected and startling. Everyone knew that Viktor Orban would win reelection as the Prime Minister of Hungary and most expected that Fidesz would maintain the 2/3 super-majority that was established in the 2010 elections. Both of these held true; making some Hungarians breathe a sigh of relief while others began to plan their escape out of Hungary. There were only two districts outside of Budapest that Fidesz did not win (see map below). People cited that both the weakness of the opposition coalition and constitutional changes in electoral procedures gave Fidesz the clear advantage. To be honest I am still having a hard time understanding how the electoral system here works. Fidesz received 44% of the popular vote, but won 133 seats in parliament out of a possible 199 seats. It is obvious that the popular vote is not proportional to the percentage of seats a party wins, but after asking several Hungarians to explain to me how this works exactly, none of them seem to be able to. Peculiar, right?

Orange represents Fidesz and red represents the opposition coalition

Seats in Parliament Won
Fidesz (conservative incumbent), Unity (opposition left-wing coalition), Jobbik (radical right), LMP (green)

The result that was most startling was the growth of the radical far-right party, Jobbik. Jobbik is very nationalistic and known for being anti-Semitic and anti-Roma. Jobbik received just over 20% of the total vote, which is around a 5% increase from the 2010 elections. It is crazy to think that one in five people who voted on Sunday, voted for a party that is openly anti-Semitic and anti-Roma. Seeing a party with such radical and racist ideologies gaining significant support makes me very frustrated and disappointed, and has made many EU countries quite concerned. Actually, EU parliamentary elections are right around the corner, so soon we will see how the votes fall, and what the reaction in Europe will be.