News blog about the parliamentary elections in Hungary
High voter turnout is already an “absolute record”
Updated April 12, 2026 – 4:58 p.mReading time: 11 minutes
The parliamentary election is not only triggering interest in Hungary. There are signs of record turnout for the 2026 Hungarian election. All developments in the news blog.
The enthusiasm for today’s Hungarian election did not diminish in the afternoon: According to the National Election Office, voter turnout at 3 p.m. was 66.01 percent. This means that voting so far in today’s general election is higher than ever before.
The overall voter turnout was 56.26 percent in the 1998 Hungarian election, 61.73 percent in the 2014 Hungarian parliamentary election and 64.38 percent in 2010. In the first free election after the regime change in 1990, a total of 65.11 percent cast their votes. The current election has already exceeded these values. This means that a total of 4,968,713 people have cast their votes in the Hungarian election by 3 p.m. The anti-government portal “hvg.hu” had already reported an “absolute record” that morning.
Several Hungarian media outlets described the voter turnout as a record. According to experts, it is currently unclear which side will benefit from the high turnout in today’s Hungarian election. The geographical distribution of voter behavior is considered to be crucial for the outcome of the parliamentary election in Hungary. Of the 199 representatives, 106 are elected directly in the constituencies with a relative majority and the rest via party lists.
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The constituencies in the Hungarian election are also tailored in such a way that larger cities are divided into several districts, to which rural areas are added. In the smaller villages, Fidesz has a strong voter base, while the majority of citizens in the cities lean towards Tisza. The first results of the Hungarian election are expected in the evening, as there are no election polls or projections.
There is a very high turnout in the parliamentary elections in Hungary. Voters will decide whether right-wing populist Viktor Orbán will remain prime minister after 16 years in office. According to the central electoral authority, 66.01 percent of those eligible to vote had already cast their vote four hours before the polls closed. The turnout was significantly higher than in the last parliamentary election in 2022 at the same time, when it was 52.75 percent.
