Following parliamentary elections on April 12th, key figures from Hungary’s Fidesz party, including Viktor Orbán and Lajos Kósa, have relinquished their mandates.
Opposition TISZA Party Wins Hungarian Elections
Hungary held parliamentary elections on Sunday, April 12th, resulting in a victory for the opposition TISZA party led by Péter Magyar. TISZA secured a constitutional majority, winning 141 seats in the 199-seat parliament.
The new government is scheduled to be sworn in on May 9th, marking the end of Fidesz’s 16-year rule. The Viktor Orbán-led Fidesz party ran in coalition with KDNP, securing only 52 seats. The far-right Mi Hazánk party also gained parliamentary representation with six seats.
Fidesz Vice-Chair Kósa Steps Down
Lajos Kósa, Vice-Chair of Fidesz, announced he would not take his parliamentary seat following the election results. He stated he was taking responsibility for the electoral defeat and would not assume the mandate he received on the Fidesz national list.
Kósa also announced he would not run for any position within the party during Fidesz’s upcoming congress to elect new leadership. He remarked that this was the fourth parliamentary election loss he had experienced with Fidesz, but emphasized that democracy involves both winning and learning from defeat.
Orbán Will Not Serve as MP
Previously, Viktor Orbán also announced his resignation from his parliamentary mandate. He explained that his mandate, obtained as the leading candidate on the Fidesz-KDNP coalition list, effectively belonged to Fidesz, and he would therefore relinquish it.
Orbán stated he would focus on reorganizing his political camp, with Gergely Gulyás, the outgoing Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, leading the party’s parliamentary group.
Fidesz Announces “Radical Restructuring”
Orbán summarized a meeting of the Fidesz leadership, held earlier on Saturday, which determined a “radical restructuring” of the party’s parliamentary representation. The leadership also recommended he continue as party chairman, a position he stated he was prepared to accept if endorsed by the congress.
A meeting of the Fidesz national council is scheduled for April 28th, as previously announced by Orbán. The party congress, originally planned for autumn, has been postponed to June.
KDNP Leader Also Resigns Mandate
Zsolt Semjen, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the coalition partner KDNP, also resigned from taking his parliamentary mandate. He proposed resigning as party chairman, but his resignation was not accepted by the party’s presidium.
