Hungarian elections

The political map of Hungary is poised to be completely redrawn as the center-right opposition Fidesz party is widely expected to trounce the Socialists on Sunday in national general elections.

Fidesz holds almost 30 percent lead over the ruling Socialists, according to recent opinion polls.

Fidesz party leader Viktor Orban has called the election a "moment of truth" and drawn comparisons with historical revolutions and the end of communism in 1990.

His party has long held a lead in the opinion polls, with recent polls indicating Fidesz has a 60 percent approval rating among decided voters.

Support for the Socialist Party has been at rock bottom since shortly after re-election in 2006 and the leaking of a speech in which former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany acknowledged the party had lied to the public.

The woes of the Hungarian left have since been compounded by a series of high-profile corruption scandals involving Socialist politicians - not to mention Hungary's being hit especially hard by the economic crisis and a 25-billion-dollar international bail-out that eventually led Gyurcsany to resign.

If Fidesz wins two-thirds of the seats in parliament, it could give the party a platform for broad structural reform. Fidesz has promised to create one million jobs over 10 years, boost lending, support small business and slash taxes. Those promises have resonated with voters, who are looking to the party to improve their living standards.

Far-right surge

Far-right nationalist party Jobbik is also set to do well, polling between 8 and 11 percent. It will likely get enough support to enter parliament for the first time and could even beat the Socialists in the voting booth, becoming the second-biggest party in parliament.

Founded in 2003, Jobbik uses strong anti-Roma and anti-Semitic rhetoric. It has capitalized on public anger over job losses and corruption and has built on resentment towards the large Roma minority, which it blames for many of the country's ills.

In 2007, Jobbik established the Hungarian Guard, which dresses in uniforms resembling those worn by the country's pre-World War II fascists.

"I will be wearing my Hungarian Guard tunic when I enter on the first day of parliament," party leader Gabor Vona told supporters in Budapest.

Fidesz has said it will not enter into a coalition with the Jobbik party, no matter the result of the election.

Proportional representation

In the first round on April 11, Hungarian voters will place two ticks: one at the name of the candidate they want to directly represent their local constituency.

The second mark goes at the name of a party fielding a regional list, and over half of 386 seats in parliament will be decided on a proportional representation basis.

A second round of voting, on April 25, will finalize those constituencies and lists where no candidate won an absolute majority or voting was inconclusive due to low turnout in the first round.

In order to enter parliament a party must poll at least five percent of the national vote.

The poll was expected to close at 1700 GMT, but the National Election Committee said many polling stations would stay open longer because voters were still waiting to cast ballots in several places.

cb/dpa/AFP
Editor: Kyle James