Peter Magyar, leader of the 'Tisza' party, pledged that his rule would be 'for all Hungarians', a day after his landslide victory in the legislative elections, ending a long 16-year rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. In a Facebook post, Magyar stated that the victory is 'a great honor', adding that voters gave his party unprecedented trust to work towards a 'free, European, effective, and humane Hungary'. He also confirmed in a speech before thousands of his supporters in the capital Budapest that the people 'freed Hungary' through the ballot box. According to official results, after counting 98.94% of the votes, the 'Tisza' party secured 138 out of 199 seats in parliament with 53.07% of the votes, compared to 55 seats for Orbán's 'Fidesz' party with 38.34% of the votes. Magyar, who had previously defected from Orbán's camp, managed in just two years to build a strong political movement that ousted a prime minister who had shaped the political and electoral system to ensure his continued rule, making this victory a significant shift in the European political landscape. The elections recorded a record turnout of 79.5%. Orbán conceded defeat, describing the results as 'painful but unambiguous', and congratulated the winning party, reflecting a major political transition in Hungary. Orbán's defeat, who had presented his country as a model of what he called 'illiberal democracy', is a blow to nationalist movements worldwide and a setback for U.S. President Donald Trump, who strongly supported Orbán during his election campaign. In contrast, Magyar's victory was widely welcomed by European leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed satisfaction with Hungary's choice of 'Europe'.
