A high turnout is expected in the ongoing Hungarian parliamentary election, where voting began at 6am on Sunday morning and some 7.5 million people are eligible to vote.
One hour after the polls opened, 3,46% of eligible voters had cast their ballot by 7 a.m., a historic record (four years ago it was 1,82%), and 16,9% of eligible voters had turned out by 9 a.m., also a record (four years ago 10.3% had voted by 9 a.m.).
By one o'clock, 54,98% of eligible voters had turned out at polling stations, compared to 40,01% in 2022.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, President of Fidesz, cast his vote in Buda this morning and said he was pleased with the high turnout. It is a victory of democracy. The more people there are, the better."
Péter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party, the largest and only opposition party with a chance of governing, also voted in Buda this morning. He said a possible record turnout and a smooth and clean election would favour his party's victory.
"If this election is conducted calmly and legally, then Tisza, and thus Hungary, will win this election," he said.
Many people fear electoral fraud, which analysts believe drove more people than ever before to register to vote.
One group, DE! Action Community, says it has recruited watchdogs to be on the lookout for electoral fraud in public places; bus hijackings and bribes.
"More than a thousand of them are sure to be out on the streets. They had to be screened to see who could go to which areas.
On top of that, there are the motorcycle patrols, who politely but persistently follow the transport vehicles, record the fraudsters and make this operation even riskier," said Áron Tímár, the head of the De! Community of Action.
According to the National Election Office, around 900 foreign observers have been registered for the parliamentary elections.
