Hungary and Bulgaria have recently held crucial parliamentary elections on April 12 and April 19 respectively.

Hungary saw a massive voter turnout at 78.9%, the highest the country has seen since 1990. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, was defeated in a landslide by Péter Magyar. Orbán’s far-right Fidesz party will no longer hold a majority in the National Assembly, the Hungarian parliament, as Magyar’s party, TISZA, won a 141-seat supermajority. Having a supermajority gives TISZA the legal ability to make amendments to the country’s constitution.

Orbán conceded the election after his decisive loss. He ran on a platform of Christian nationalist, anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ+ policies. He has called himself an “illiberal” leader who wants to distance Hungary from Europe and create stronger ties with non-Western countries like Russia and China. As a member of the European Council, Orbán often single-handedly vetoed efforts to send $106 billion to Ukraine in its war against Russia, thus preventing Ukraine from receiving much-needed financial aid.

Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer and politician, made a name for himself by holding multiple rallies over the two years preceding his bid for office. He is the president of the center-right party TISZA, which offered Hungarians relief from Fidesz’ 16-year supermajority.

Unlike Orbán, Magyar is pro-European, emphasizing his wish to create closer ties with the rest of the European Union. He even aims to replace the Hungarian Forint with the Euro by 2030.

Magyar holds a more moderate stance on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine than Orbán. He wants to create a balance between Hungary’s current relationship with Russia and that of the EU. When Ukraine repaired the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline that serves Hungary and Slovakia with Russian oil, he rescinded Orbán’s veto on the financial aid package for Ukraine. Right now, Hungary receives the majority of its oil imports from Russia, but Magyar claims that he wants to diversify the country’s energy supply instead of relying on Russian oil. 

Magyar is not fully pro-Ukraine, however. In order to keep his middle-ground stance, he has said that he will not provide direct financial or military support to the country while emphasizing that Ukraine is the victim in the conflict. At the same time, he has criticized Orbán for his close ties with Russia.

Orbán announced that Hungary would be leaving the International Criminal Court (ICC) in April 2025, but Magyar announced his plan to rescind that decision before it comes into effect this May. Orbán’s main reason for this decision was his disagreement with the ICC’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Magyar, since winning the election, has warned Netanyahu that he will be arrested if he ever steps on Hungarian soil. Magyar will assume office on May 9.

Bulgaria, another EU country located on the Balkan peninsula, also chose a new prime minister. Rumen Radev, who served as president from 2017 until 2026, when he resigned in order to run for prime minister. He won 44% of the vote in another landslide victory, and his party, left-wing Progressive Bulgaria, won 131 seats in an outright majority.

Radev aims to handle the issue of corruption within the Bulgarian government and also wants to reform the judiciary system. Not much else is known about his domestic policy goals, which concerns voters.

Radev is a Euroskeptic and has historically opposed Bulgaria’s decision to adopt the Euro, which came into effect in 2026. While not blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, he has criticized the EU for providing military aid to the country, for which he called the EU “warmongers,” according to DW. It is not yet known whether Radev will fully cooperate with EU measures or block them like Orbán.

The elections in Hungary and Bulgaria largely represent victories for the people of each country, as Magyar promises to put an end to the far-right policies enacted by his predecessor, and Radev promises to crack down on corruption. However, the direction in which these governments will go remains to be seen.