Hungary’s parliament to elect Peter Magyar prime minister in early May

Hungary is moving swiftly toward a political handover after Peter Magyar’s sweeping election win ended Viktor Orban’s 16-year grip on power, with the country’s new parliament expected to meet in early May to formally choose its next prime minister.

Mr Magyar, who decisively defeated Orban in Sunday’s vote, said lawmakers could gather as soon as 4 May or around 6-7 May after he met President Tamas Sulyok to discuss the timetable.

He also urged the president, seen as an Orban ally, to step down as part of what he cast as a clean break for the central European member of the EU and NATO following an election that handed his party a two-thirds majority in parliament.

“I repeated to him that, in my eyes and in the eyes of the Hungarian people, he is unworthy of embodying the unity of the Hungarian nation, incapable of ensuring respect for the law,” Mr Magyar told journalists after the meeting.

He said the president, who is chosen by parliament and whose role is largely ceremonial, had replied “enigmatically” to that demand.

Mr Magyar’s Tisza party won a two-thirds majority in the elections – giving him the power to amend the constitution.

Orban met separately with the president, who was to speak with all party leaders on Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, Mr Sulyok said only that he would officially nominate Mr Magyar to the post of prime minister during the inaugural parliament session.

Uprising anniversary

Mr Magyar, 45, a conservative who emerged as one of the sharpest critics of Orban’s rule, has promised a “new era” and “regime change” aimed at reversing many of the steps taken by Orban and his Fidesz party to tighten control over state institutions and civil rights.

His incoming government plans to prioritise reforms, especially in the justice system and anti-corruption efforts, in a push to help release billions of euros in European Union funds frozen by Brussels.

Mr Magyar said he had invited several international leaders to Budapest for the 70th anniversary on 23 October of the 1956 uprising against Hungary’s pro-Soviet government at the time.

Orban, an ally of US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, lost the elections after 16 years in power.

Mr Trump had vocally endorsed Orban, but said on Tuesday he liked Mr Magyar, telling ABC News: “I think the new man’s going to do a good job – he’s a good man.”

Mr Trump noted that Mr Magyar was formerly a member of Orban’s party and said he had similar views on immigration, according to ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, who posted the remarks on X.

Mr Magyar said he welcomed Mr Trump’s “very friendly” comments.

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EU says Orban loss gives ‘new push’ to Ukraine accession

Hungary’s change of government could help clear the way for €90 billion for Ukraine and give fresh momentum to Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union, the bloc’s enlargement chief said.

Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, described Sunday’s Hungarian election – in which long-serving nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban suffered a heavy defeat – as a “big win for Europe.”

“I expect, personally, that this will have a positive effect on the accession process,” Ms Kos said.

She also said it would help unlock a major loan needed to prop up Ukraine’s budget.

Mr Orban had an effective veto on the funds, angering other EU leaders. He had tied the veto to a dispute with Ukraine over a damaged pipeline carrying Russian oil.

“With the €90 billion, we can cover the financial needs of Ukraine in ’26 and ’27,” Ms Kos said.

Mr Orban also opposed any progress on Ukraine joining the European Union.

Viktor Orban had vetoed loans to Ukraine and opposed accession

Even so, Ms Kos struck a note of caution, saying Ukraine still needed “to deliver on the reforms which are important for their economic transformation,” while acknowledging the difficulty of doing so during wartime.

Mr Orban, a right-wing populist who held power for 16 years, was defeated by conservative Peter Magyar in elections held on Sunday.

Mr Magyar, for his part, opposes rapid EU accession for Ukraine as well as sending military aid to Ukraine, but could unblock the loan as a goodwill gesture to leaders in Brussels.

He has vowed a referendum on Ukraine’s EU membership, but he could allow the bloc to move forward with so-called negotiating “clusters” that Brussels has pushed for.

Ms Kos also said she hoped to see the new Hungarian government bolster anti-corruption efforts, strengthen the rule of law, and increase the media freedoms.

“Those fundamentals – we put so much effort in the accession process – are also important for the member states,” she said, referring to Hungary.

Hungary’s Magyar promises to suspend state media broadcasts

Mr Magyar also said this morning that his government will suspend state media broadcasts, pass a new media law and ensure press freedom after his cabinet takes power.

“Every Hungarian deserves a public service media that broadcasts the truth,” Mr Magyar said on Kossuth state radio, where outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban had been a weekly guest for the past 16 years while opposition politicians rarely got invited.

“We will need a little time to pass a new media law, a new media authority and setting up the professional conditions for state media actually do what it is meant to do,” Mr Magyar added.

After a year and a half, I am back in the “public” television studio. We have just witnessed the last days of a propaganda machine.After the formation of the TISZA government, we will suspend the news services of the “public” media until its public service character is restored. pic.twitter.com/KW6UQsKzJP

— Magyar Péter (Ne féljetek) (@magyarpeterMP) April 15, 2026

Critics said public media functioned as a government mouthpiece under Mr Orban and accused him of helping erode independent journalism as allies of his Fidesz party gained control of private outlets – allegations he denied.

Mr Orban’s landslide defeat handed Mr Magyar a strong majority in Hungary’s 199-seat legislature, opening the door for an overhaul of a system that critics in the European Union said subverted democratic norms.