Rival Mass Rallies Fill Budapest as Orbán and Magyar Face Off Ahead of 2026 Election

Thousands marched in Budapest on Thursday. Photo: Zoltán Máthé

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s capital turned into a stage for political confrontation Thursday as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and opposition leader Péter Magyar each drew massive crowds in simultaneous rallies that underscored the country’s divisions ahead of next spring’s national election. Some outlets have reported crowds reaching tens of thousands of people, with some even reporting hundreds of thousands.

According to reporting from ABC, Orbán’s supporters launched a “peace march” across a Danube bridge toward Parliament, waving banners rejecting Western involvement in the war in Ukraine — one reading, “We don’t want to die for Ukraine.” In a fiery speech, the Prime Minster accused Kyiv and its European backers of dragging the EU into war and declared that Ukraine “has long ceased to be sovereign.”

"The day of the Budapest Peace March has arrived," he said at the event, which was held on Revolution Memorial Day, a national holiday that commemorates the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising. "Today we send a message to the whole world: Hungary says no to war! We will not die for Ukraine. We will not send our children to the slaughterhouse at Brussels’ command."

While Orbán called for an immediate ceasefire and rejected Ukraine’s bid to join the EU, critics accused him of aligning too closely with Moscow.

Across town, Magyar’s supporters filled Budapest’s Heroes’ Square and nearby streets, chanting anti-government slogans and reviving the 1956-era cry, “Russians go home!” The 44-year-old lawyer and former Fidesz insider has rapidly emerged as Orbán’s most serious challenger in 15 years, campaigning on corruption, inflation, and democratic renewal.

Magyar accused Orbán of impoverishing Hungary and dividing its people but urged his followers to envision unity after the election: “On October 23 of next year, there are not two contemptuous crowds facing each other, but a nation united, celebrating and smiling at each other.”

With elections expected in April, Thursday’s rival demonstrations served as a key test of momentum. Orbán, the EU’s longest-serving leader, continues to command a loyal base but now faces a resurgent opposition eager to end his decade-and-a-half tenure.

Previously, UOJ reported that Arnaud Gouillon, director of the Serbian Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy, met with Tristan Azbej, Hungary’s State Secretary responsible for aiding persecuted Christians.

Read also