Viktor Orban re-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary

Viktor Orban was re-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary for the second consecutive four-year term. The results of general elections were announced on 8 April 2014. The General parliamentary elections were held on 6 April 2014.

Out of the total votes casted, Orban's Fidesz party won 133 of 199 parliament seats. The left alliance which was led by Attila Mesterhazy won 38 seats while the far-right Jobbik party won 23 seats.

Although, The Fidesz party won the two-third majority to form the Government, however, a twenty percent vote for the far-right opposition Jobbik party, accused of anti-Semitism, raised concerns among ethnic minorities.

The general election of 2014 was the first election in accordance to the new Constitution of Hungary which came into force on 1 January 2012.

Orban was first elected as the PM of Hungary in 1998 and for the second time in 2010. His re-election for the second consecutive term does not augur well for the already strained relationship between European Union (EU) and Hungary. He has already faced criticism from the EU and foreign investors over his staunch defence of the national interest and has been criticized as increasingly authoritarian.

Election Procedure of Hungary

The Republic of Hungary is a parliamentary democracy, where parliamentary elections are held every four years. Hungary has a mixed electoral system, based on majority and proportional representation.

The Hungarian unicameral Parliament (also called National Assembly) has a total of 386 members, of whom 176 represent the electorate, each member representing the people in one single-member constituency.

They are elected directly by voters in the given constituency, while 210 members are elected from party lists and national lists, based on proportional representation. This means that each voter casts two ballots on Election Day, one for a candidate and one for a party.

The president of the Republic of Hungary is elected in a secret ballot by at least two thirds or, after two unsuccessful votes, by a simple majority of MPs for a five-year term. The prime minister is elected by a simple majority of MPs for four years. Real power lies with the prime minister.