Voters in Hungary will head to the polls on Sunday as nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban faces the toughest opposition of his 16-year tenure.
Opinion polls suggest that Orban and his nationalist Fidesz party will lose power to the centre-right, pro-European Union Tisza party, led by former party loyalist Peter Magyar.
US Vice president JD Vance took time out of a busy schedule amid a fragile ceasefire with Iran to assist Orban with his election campaign, saying the European leader “stands up for the values of western civilisation”.
Orban, a staunch ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has drawn widespread criticism across Europe for his support for the invasion of Ukraine.
He previously shrugged off Russian drone incursions into Nato airspace, saying: “So what?” and declared: “Ukraine is not an independent country.”
Polling stations open on Sunday at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) and close at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). The results should become clear by late Sunday evening.
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