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Hungary opposition parties win big in Budapest

Gergely Karacsony leading Istvan Tarlos by 50.1% to 44.8%

14 October, 10:10
(ANSA-AP) - BUDAPEST - The candidate backed by several opposition parties has been elected mayor of Budapest, defeating the incumbent supported by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party. With 74% of the votes counted in Budapest, Gergely Karacsony was leading Istvan Tarlos by 50.1% to 44.8% and local media reported that Tarlos had called to congratulate his rival.

Opposition parties were also projected to win mayoral races in around 10 of the country's 23 largest cities in nationwide local elections. In 2014, they won just three of those races. At near 50%, Sunday's voting had one of the highest voter turnouts in local elections since Hungary's 1990 return to democracy. Despite the disappointing results, analysts said they expect Orban, who led his party to landslide victories in all major elections since 2010, to continue with his combative style which includes strong anti-migrant policies, increasing domination of the media and a centralized power structure built around the prime minister's office. (ANSA-AP).

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