Hungarian election: Orbán accuses opposition of plotting unrest

Two days before Hungary’s parliamentary election, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused the conservative opposition led by Péter Magyar of planning unrest in the event of his populist party’s defeat.

“Our opponents will stop at nothing,” Orbán said in a video message “to all Hungarians” posted on his Facebook page on Friday.

“They are cooperating with foreign intelligence services. Even now, before your votes have been counted, they are organizing protests and unrest,” Orbán said, without providing evidence for his claims.

“This is an organized attempt to cast doubt on the decision of the Hungarian people through chaos, pressure and international defamation,” he added.

Orbán, a far-right populist who has governed Hungary for 16 years, faces a difficult election on Sunday, with polls suggesting his party could be defeated.

All major polling institutes currently show Magyar’s Tisza Party ahead of Orbán’s Fidesz.

Ahead of the vote, Magyar has promised a break with Orbán’s semi-authoritarian style of governance. He previously belonged to Fidesz but split from the party just over two years ago.

Orbán has maintained close ties with Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Reports have also suggested coordination with Moscow on some EU policy positions.

Magyar responded to Orbán’s remarks in a Facebook video, urging supporters not to be provoked and to remain peaceful.

He said Orbán would be voted out on Sunday by millions of Hungarians who once supported him but now feel “let down and betrayed,” and called on the outgoing prime minister to accept the result “with composure and dignity.”

Security expert and former intelligence officer Péter Buda said in a Substack post that claims of opposition-linked unrest and alleged cooperation with Ukraine have circulated for some time in Russian online networks.

He said fabricated videos have appeared, including material purporting to show Ukrainian soldiers preparing intervention in Hungary.

By adopting such narratives, Buda argued, the government appears to be preparing the public for a potential “provocation” that could later be blamed on the opposition.