Hungary's Ruling Coalition Claims Victory in Parliamentary Elections
Updated: 2014-04-07 17:33:34
Fei(Xinhua)
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Hungary's ruling coalition has won parliamentary elections with 44.37 percent of the vote, based on a count of more than 98 percent of votes.
Official results will not be announced until April 25 when ballots cast by Hungarians living abroad will have been fully counted.
According to the initial results, the coalition secured 133 seats in the parliament. The left-wing coalition has 38, the far right Jobbik party 23, and the green LMP party won five.
In a speech delivered Sunday night, Prime Minister Viktor Orban celebrated the outcome as a "really great victory," saying the landslide win showed voters' acknowledgement of their policies over the past four years.
The ruling coalition, consisting of the Fidesz party and its junior partner, the Christian Democratic People's party, won a two-thirds majority four years ago.
Opposition leader Attila Mesterhazy refused to congratulate the Fidesz party. Describing the election as "unfair," the leader said: "Hungary is not governed by rule of law, or a democracy. It is not free."
Gabor Vona, speaking for the Jobbik party, pointed out that Jobbik won 20 percent of the vote, which was a better outcome than predicted and showed an increase in their support and popularity.
Parliamentary elections in Hungary are held every four years. There are 199 seats in the parliament, down from 386. The two-round election system has been reduced to a single one this year, after the coalition government revamped electoral law in 2011.
In the 2010 elections, the coalition government secured 263 seats, while the Hungarian Socialist party got 59, followed by Jobbik party with 47 seats.