Hungary Elects Peter Magyar, Ending Orban's 16-Year Reign

Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar soundly defeated Prime Minister Viktor Orban in elections Sunday, a result that brings an end to the Trump ally's 16-year reign and will have repercussions across Europe and in the White House. Magyar said the prime minister called him to concede, the AP reports. "I congratulated the victorious party," Orban tearfully told supporters in Budapest. "We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition as well."

Magyar's Tisza party was on track to win 136 seats in the 199-seat parliament, and Orban's Fidesz party 56, with more than 53% of the vote counted after heavy turnout. That would be a supermajority that would let Magyar undo segments of Orban's "illiberal democracy," such as the prime minister's control over the judiciary, state companies, and the media; Politico Europe calls Orban "the EU's most autocratic leader." The prime minister, who has had the support of President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been at the forefront of anti-immigrant, Christian-oriented nationalism. Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Orban in Hungary last week. "Thank you, Hungary!" Magyar posted, per Reuters.