Election in Hungary

Tens of thousands of Hungarians demonstrate ahead of election

Tens of thousands of Hungarians took to the streets to demonstrate today, AFP reports.

It is the annual so-called peace march, a march in support of the government and its leader Viktor Orbán. But counter-demonstrators have also gathered in Budapest. The opposition side carries placards with messages about freedom and anti-corruption, journalist Susannah Elers tells Aftonbladet.

In just under a month, Hungary will go to the polls. It is between Orbán, who has been in power since 2010, and challenger Péter Magyar of the center-right Tisza party.

Both candidates accuse each other of foreign influence. Orbán's side believes that Magyar is a puppet of Brussels and Kyiv. Magyar, on the other hand, accuses Orbán of trying to maintain power with the help of the Kremlin.

Zelenskyj: Kremlin experts are helping Orbán ahead of the election

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj says that Russia has sent “political experts” to Hungary to help right-wing populist Viktor Orbán retain power, Reuters reports.

Ahead of the Hungarian election in about a month, Orbán faces the biggest threat to his 16-year hold on power in the form of opposition politician Péter Magyar, AFP writes.

Orbán has made a habit of standing in the way of things that could benefit Ukraine and has instead strengthened ties to the Kremlin. Magyar is portrayed as a pro-Western and more liberal alternative.

That Orbán does not like Zelenskyj is evident in his Fidesz party's posters, which paint Zelenskyj in a bad light. And that the Kremlin likes Orbán is evident in the social media campaign they are running to promote him, according to VSquare and the Financial Times.