Hungary's conservative icon Orban defeated by centre-right opposition

Highlights:

• Vote puts end to Orban's 16-year rule
• Election outcome significant for EU, US, Russia and Ukraine
• Election officials estimate turnout at 79% or more, a record

Hungary's veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban lost power to the upstart centre-right Tisza party in Sunday's national election after 16 years in office, marking a setback for his allies in Russia and US President Donald Trump's White House.

Orban, 62, was celebrated by conservatives across Europe and the United States as the mastermind of the "illiberal" model of democracy, but lost favour at home with voters who grew weary of economic stagnation, international isolation and oligarchs amassing wealth.

His landslide defeat handed Tisza's Peter Magyar, 45, a comfortable majority in Hungary's 199-seat legislature, opening the door for meaningful reforms of a system critics in the European Union said subverted democratic norms.

With nearly all ballots counted, Tisza was set to win 138 seats, more than the two-thirds majority Magyar would need to undo Orban's constitutional overhaul and combat corruption.

Record turnout on Sunday underscored how many Hungarians saw the election as a watershed moment for their country.

"We have done it. Tisza and Hungary have won this election," Magyar told tens of thousands of supporters who danced and cheered alongside the elegant Danube River embankment in central Budapest.

Many held candles while loudspeakers blasted Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as Magyar walked towards the stage. "Together, we have replaced Orban's system and together we liberated Hungary, we have reclaimed our country," he said.

Magyar had cast the election as a choice between "East and West", warning voters that Orban and his confrontational stance towards Brussels would take the country further away from the European mainstream. Orban countered that Tisza would drag Hungary into an unwanted war with Russia, a charge Magyar denied.

"The election result is painful for us, but clear," Orban said at the Fidesz campaign offices. Some of his supporters who had gathered outside cried while watching his speech on TV screens.

Shockwaves for the EU and beyond

The end of Orban's 16-year rule will have significant implications not only for Hungary, but for the European Union, Ukraine and beyond.

Many European leaders are hoping for 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 that was blocked by Orban.

Mujtaba Rahman, a managing director at Eurasia Group, said Magyar will be able to deliver on his promises to clean out corruption and remove Fidesz loyalists from key positions.

"Regarding Ukraine, Magyar will agree to pave the way for 90 billion euros to flow to Ukraine. He was extremely cautious pre-election, but without the need now to try to appease Fidesz voters, we think Hungary will cautiously move more into the European mainstream on most subjects."

Some diplomats in Brussels cautioned issues such as migration may remain thorny. "Hungary will continue to be a challenging partner, but a partner with whom the other member states can work," one said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy congratulated Magyar on Sunday and pledged to work with him to strengthen Europe and uphold peace and security. "It is important when a constructive approach is victorious," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.

Defeat for Orban could also mean the eventual release of EU funds to Hungary suspended over reforms that Brussels said undermined democratic standards, something closely watched by financial markets.

"Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the top EU executive, said after partial results were released.

Orban's exit would also deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of his main ally in the EU and send shockwaves through the West's right-wing circles, including the White House.

Orban had won public endorsements from the Trump administration, culminating in a visit to Budapest by Vice President JD Vance last week, as well as from the Kremlin and far-right leaders in Europe.

But his campaign was shaken by media reports alleging his government colluded with Moscow on diplomatic and political matters.

Orban, who denied any wrongdoing, said his goal was to protect Hungary's national identity and traditional Christian values within the EU and its security in a dangerous world.

"It's incredibly exciting," said 24-year-old Dorina Nyul, who attended the Tisza election night event. "It feels like this is our first and last chance in a really long time to actually change the system. And it's, I can't even describe the feeling."