Orban declares ‘huge victory’ in Hungary elections

Prime Minister Viktor Orban declares victory in Hungary’s national elections, claiming a mandate for a fourth term as a partial vote count predicted a strong lead for his right-wing party.

In a 10-minute speech to Fidesz party officials and supporters at an election night event in Budapest, Orban addresses a crowd cheering “Viktor!” and declares it was a “huge victory” for his party.

“We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels,” says Orban, who has often been condemned by the European Union for democratic backsliding and alleged corruption.

“The whole world has seen tonight in Budapest that Christian democratic politics, conservative civic politics and patriotic politics have won. We are telling Europe that this is not the past, this is the future,” Orban says.

While votes were still being tallied, it appeared clear that the question was not whether Orban’s Fidesz party would take the election, but by how much.