Speaking to supporters on Sunday evening, Orban declared: “The election results, though not yet final, are clear and understandable; for us, they are painful but unambiguous.<\/p>\n
“We have not been entrusted with the responsibility and opportunity to govern. I congratulated the winning party.”<\/p>\n
His rival, Tisza Party\u2019s Peter Magyar said in a post on social media<\/a> that “Prime Minister Viktor Orban just called to congratulate us on our victory.”<\/p>\n Across Budapest, cars were honking horns in celebration and crowds of cheering people took to the streets.<\/p>\n Record turnout in Hungary as voters weigh change against Orban\u2019s rule<\/a><\/p>\n On one side of the Danube River, several attendees who had been waiting for hours for Orban to appear were seen crying after watching his speech conceding to Magyar.<\/p>\n Fidesz supporters shouted the nationalistic chant “Ria, Ria, Hungaria” and shouted “You will regret this!”<\/p>\n “We feel horrible, betrayed,” a middle-aged woman who voted for Fidesz said.<\/p>\n On the other side, a huge amount of excitement was felt at Tisza’s event.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d Sara Becker, 27, told reporters as Orban was giving his concession speech. \u201cI think it [will] be a better country<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance accuses EU of election interference on visit to Hungary to support Orban<\/a><\/p>\n Europe congratulates Magyar<\/p>\n European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has posted\u00a0on X<\/a>: “Europe\u2019s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight.”<\/p>\n “Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together, we are stronger. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.”<\/p>\n Magyar’s victory will likely spell an end to Hungary’s adversarial role inside the EU, possibly opening the way for a \u20ac90 billion loan<\/a> to Ukraine blocked by\u00a0Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to Magyar to congratulate him on his victory.<\/p>\n “France welcomes what has been a victory in terms of people taking part in the democratic process, and a victory which shows the attachment of the Hungarian people to the values of the European Union and for Hungary’s role in Europe,” Macron wrote on X.<\/p>\n German Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined in the chorus of congratulations to Magyar in an online post:<\/p>\n