Hungary's Fidesz-KDNP coalition wins general elections

By Mehmet Yilmaz

BUDAPEST, Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition won a landslide victory Sunday in general elections.

Based on 91 percent of the votes counted, the coalition of the Fidesz party and Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) received at least 48 percent of the vote while Hungary's main opposition Jobbik party received 19 percent and the left-wing Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Dialogue for Hungary (PM) oppositional coalition received 12 percent.

Hungary's Green Party (LMP) received 6 percent of the vote followed by the Democratic Coalition (DK) with 5 percent.

With the results, the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition won 133 seats, Jobbik 26 seats, the MSZP-PM coalition 20 seats, the DK nine seats and the LMP eight seats in the 199-seat parliament.

Since the electoral threshold is five percent in the country, five political parties and coalitions succeeded in taking a seat in parliament.

Jobbik's chairman Gabor Vona in a statement Sunday following the elections announced he will resign from his position as chairman Monday.

Though the Muslim community in Hungary accounts for only 0.2 percent of the population, refugees and Islam were major campaign issues.

Many government officials including Orban claimed that Europe was being invaded by refugees and that churches were being shut down and mosques were being opened instead. They went further by claiming that refugees were forcing their own laws on the regions they reside in.

Orban openly defined the refugees as "Muslim invaders" and argued that they "threaten Christian values".

In 2015, Hungary installed razor-wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia to halt the flow of refugees.

It also implemented harsher penalties including jail time for illegal crossings and announced a state of emergency in its border areas.