BUDAPEST: Hungarians were voting on Sunday (Apr 12) in an election that could end Prime Minister Viktor Orban's 16-year hold on power, rattle Russia and send shockwaves through right-wing circles across the West, including US President Donald Trump's White House.

Orban, a eurosceptic nationalist, has carved out a model of an "illiberal democracy" seen as a blueprint by Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and its admirers in Europe.

But many Hungarians have grown weary of Orban, 62, after three years of economic stagnation and soaring living costs, along with reports of oligarchs close to the government amassing more wealth.

Opinion polls have shown Orban's Fidesz party trailing Peter Magyar's upstart centre-right opposition Tisza party by 7 to 9 percentage points, with Tisza at around 38 to 41 per cent.

RECORD TURNOUT PREDICTED

Pollsters predicted a record voter turnout and data at 1100 GMT showed over 54 per cent of voters had cast their ballots, up from 40 per cent at the same time in the 2022 election. Television footage showed long queues outside some voting stations in Budapest.

Magyar, after casting his vote in Budapest, said Hungarians would write history as they choose "between East and West", and urged voters to report any irregularities.

"Election fraud is a very serious crime," he added.

Magyar expressed confidence about the outcome, saying the only question was whether Tisza won a simple majority or a two-thirds majority in the 199-seat parliament that would allow it to amend Hungary's constitution.

Orban, who cast his vote in the same Budapest district and swept the last four elections, told reporters: "There is a constitution in Hungary and it needs to be followed. The decision of the people needs to be respected."

Four years ago, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said that the ballot had been run professionally but that an uneven playing field could have impacted the result.

CHANGE OR CONTINUITY?

Casting his vote for Tisza in the Hungarian capital, Mihaly Bacsi, 27, said: "We need an improvement in public mood, there is too much tension in many areas and the current government only fuels these sentiments."

Another voter, 83-year old Istvan Stofka, said he wanted Orban to continue his welfare an...