Hungary’s veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban conceded defeat on Sunday after a landslide election victory by the upstart opposition Tisza party, in a setback for his allies in Russia, Israel, and US President Donald Trump’s White House.

Results based on 46 percent of votes counted showed the center-right, pro-EU Tisza party of Peter Magyar winning 135 seats — or a crucial two-thirds majority — in the 199-member parliament, ahead of Orban’s Fidesz party.

“The election results are not final yet, but the situation is understandable and clear,” Orban said at the Fidesz campaign offices. “The election result is painful for us, but clear.”

Pollsters predicted a record voter turnout, with Hungarian television showing long queues outside some voting stations in Budapest. Data at 4:30 p.m. GMT, half an hour before polls were due to close, showed 77.8 percent of voters casting their ballots, up from 67.8% four years earlier.

If the final results confirm the early readings, an end to Orban’s period in government after 16 years in power would have significant implications not only for Hungary, but for the European Union, Ukraine, and beyond.

It would likely spell an end to Hungary’s adversarial role inside the EU, possibly opening the way for a 90 billion euro ($105 billion) loan to war-battered Ukraine blocked by Orban.

Defeat for Orban could also mean the eventual release of EU funds........

© The Times of Israel