BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — Hungarian prime minister-elect Peter Magyar pledged on Monday to usher in a “new era” after defeating nationalist leader Viktor Orban in elections seen as a blow to hard-right populism.

Orban, a self-described “thorn” in the European Union’s side who was backed by US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, was ousted in Sunday’s ballot after 16 years in power.

Hungarians fed up with corruption handed Magyar, a conservative former government insider, a decisive victory.

Magyar said he would do “everything in our power to ensure that this truly marks the beginning of a new era.”

He urged President Tamas Sulyok, an Orban ally, to convene parliament “as soon as possible.”

“Our country has no time to waste. Hungary is in trouble in every respect. It has been plundered, looted, betrayed, indebted and ruined,” he told reporters.

Magyar’s Tisza party won a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary elections, which drew record turnout.

Tens of thousands of jubilant supporters poured into the streets to celebrate in the capital, Budapest.

‘Defeat for right-wing populism,’ win for ‘values of the EU’

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it a “heavy defeat” for “right-wing populism” and French President Emmanuel Macron hailed it as a victory for the “values of the European Union.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped for “pragmatic” relations with Hungary’s new government, following the ousting of Orban, the EU’s most Russia-friendly leader.

China, with which Orban had also fostered ties, congratulated Magyar.

Magyar thanked both Moscow and Beijing for “being open to pragmatic cooperation, just as Hungary is.”

Almost-complete official results showed Tisza securing 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament on 53 percent of the vote.

Orban’s Fidesz party retained 55 seats on 38 percent of the vote.

Turnout was a record 79.6 percent.

Orban, 62, conceded defeat on Sunday, saying the message was “painful but unambiguous.”

Crowds of Magyar supporters celebrated into the early hours outside his party’s election headquarters by the Danube and in Budapest.

“I feel fantastic!” said Zoltan Sziromi, a 20-year-old student in the throng of revellers waving Hungarian flags and dancing.

“We’ve finally got rid of that system and it was about time,” he told AFP.

Addressing the crowd, Magyar said voters had “liberated” the country of 9.5 million people and “said ‘yes’ to Europe.”

Orban, who was seeking a fifth straight term, has transformed his country into a model of “illiberal democracy,” clashing with the EU over rule-of-law issues and holding up EU aid for war-torn Ukraine.

Magyar, 45, was a solid supporter of Orban for years before emerging as his most serious challenger.

He stepped into frontline politics just two years ago, promising to fight corruption and offering better public services.

He garnered support against a backdrop of economic stagnation and despite an electoral system skewed in favour of Fidesz.

Ahead of the vote, both candidates’ camps had alleged foreign interference in the campaign.

US Vice President JD Vance, one of the most fervent supporters of far-right parties in Europe, visited Hungary last week to attend a rally with Orban.

His boss, Trump, had promised to back Hungary with the United States’ “economic might” if Orban’s party won.

And Vance accused EU “bureaucrats” of interfering in Hungary, a member of the bloc since 2004.

But the US ambassador to Budapest denied that Washington was seeking to influence the central European country’s affairs.

Potential ‘turning point for Donald Trump’s culture war’

The election “could mark a real turning point for Donald Trump’s culture war in Europe,” said Pawel Zerka, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

It gave “confidence (to) pro-European forces across the continent” and meant that association with Trump’s culture war was now becoming “more of a liability than an asset,” he said.

Orban has repeatedly blocked EU moves to help Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion.

He made Ukraine a central campaign issue, portraying Kyiv as “hostile” to Hungary.

Like Orban, Magyar opposes sending EU military aid to Ukraine or offering Ukraine a fast-track route to join the 27-nation bloc.

He reiterated that stance on Monday, saying: “We are talking about a country at war. It is completely out of the question for the European Union to admit a country at war.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has nonetheless pledged to work with him “for the benefit of both nations, as well as peace, security and stability in Europe.”

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