Hungarians were casting ballots Sunday in what is widely seen as Europe's most consequential election this year, a vote that could unseat populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of US President Donald Trump, after 16 years in power.
It's a key moment for Orban, the European Union's longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has travelled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.
Polls opened at 6 am local time and were scheduled to close at 7 pm. Orban and his top challenger, Peter Magyar, arrived at separate polling stations in Budapest at nearly the same time to cast their votes.
Speaking to reporters outside, Orban, 62, said the campaign had been "a great national moment on our side" and thanked activists and supporters for their work.
"I'm here to win," he said.
The election was closely watched in countries across Europe and beyond, a testament to the outsized role Orban plays in far-right populist politics worldwide.
Members of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement are among those who see Orban's government and his Fidesz political party as shining examples of conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is reviled by advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law.
Hungarians will write history at an election on Sunday when they choose "between East and West", and the opposition Tisza party will win the vote, party leader Peter Magyar told reporters after casting his vote as well.
Magyar said that every vote counts in the parliamentary election that could bring a record turnout. He also urged people to report any irregularities they encounter during the voting, adding that "election fraud is a very serious crime".
Casting her ballot in Budapest early Sunday, retiree Eszter Szatmari, 62, said she felt the election was "basically our last chance to see anything vaguely resembling ... democracy in Hungary."
"We all have to make a real effort to show the world that we are not who people thought we were in the past five to 10 years," she said.
Orban has been at the helm since 2010
During his 16 years as prime minister, Orban has launched harsh crackdowns on minority rights and media freedoms, subverted many of Hungary's institutions and been accused of siphoning large sums of money into the coffers of his allied business elite, an allegation he denies.
He has also heavily strained Hungary's relationship with the EU, seeming to revel in using his veto power to stymie the 27-member bloc's important decisions. Most recently, he blocked a 90-billion-euro (USD 104 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, prompting his partners to accuse him of hijacking the critical aid.
Yet after winning four consecutive elections with a two-thirds majority for his party in Parliament, signs have emerged that Orban's absolute control over Hungary's politics may be reaching its end.