Magyar’s Parliamentary Majority in Hungary Increases After Final Count

Seagulls are pictured at the Baltic Sea beach in Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, on a sunny Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

BUDAPEST, April 18 (Reuters) – Hungarian election winner Peter ⁠Magyar’s ⁠Tisza party has increased its parliamentary ⁠supermajority to 141 seats out of 199 after the processing of postal, ​foreign mission, and transferred votes, the election office said on Saturday.

Centre-right Tisza (Respect and Freedom) won a landslide victory ‌in Sunday’s election, ending the 16-year ‌rule of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban that became a template for many conservative rulers across the ⁠West.

Orban quickly ⁠conceded after Magyar unexpectedly secured a sweeping majority amid record turnout, a result ​that could allow him to overhaul Orban’s contested rule-of-law reforms.

“An unprecedented majority, an unprecedented mandate, and at the same time, responsibility,” Magyar said in a statement on the final result.

Highlighting the scale of the political shift, Orban’s ​Fidesz party, which won 87 of 106 single-member constituencies at the 2022 election, won just 10 ⁠on ⁠Sunday and will have 52 ⁠lawmakers in ​parliament.

HUNGARIAN ASSETS BOLSTERED BY MAGYAR’S VICTORY

Magyar’s victory has triggered a rally in Hungarian assets on hopes ​for a reset in EU ⁠ties strained by years of conflict under Orban and the possible release of billions of EU funding suspended over reforms that Brussels says undermine democracy.

“While a successful unlocking of EU funds would support investment and lower sovereign risk premia, the impact on growth will materialise primarily over the medium term,” Capital Economics ⁠analyst Liam Peach said in a note.

“In the near term, the outlook remains shaped ⁠by external factors – notably the Iran conflict – and domestic fiscal policy.”

A preliminary tally had put the number of Tisza lawmakers at 138, already exceeding the two-thirds majority Magyar needed to undo Orban’s constitutional overhaul and tackle corruption. The final count rose to 141 once all votes were tallied.

EU FUNDS COULD BOOST HUNGARY’S STAGNANT ECONOMY

Magyar has pledged to launch a sweeping anti-corruption drive after taking office on May 9 or 10 as part of wider efforts to secure the release of EU funds and revive an economy that has been near ⁠stagnation for the past three years.

Orban has regularly denied any wrongdoing and said Hungary was no more corrupt than other European countries.

However, in an online interview on Thursday, the veteran leader said widespread media reports about wealth accumulated by businessmen close to Fidesz had likely ​contributed to his defeat. He did not comment on the accuracy of the ​reports.

(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs. Editing by Mark Potter)

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

Photos You Should See – April 2026

Seagulls are pictured at the Baltic Sea beach in Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, on a sunny Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

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