Budapest by-elections yield 3 ruling party, 1 opposition victory

In the 5th district of Budapest, Gergo Nagy of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrats (KDNP) garnered over 70 percent of the vote, winning the mandate over Benjamin Fabian, the candidate of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), Momentum, LMP and the Socialists, who won 27 percent. In the 7th district, Andras Ripka of Fidesz-KDNP won with 45 percent of the vote over Kenim Martin Jenei of the DK, Jobbik, Socialists, LMP and Parbeszed (28 percent). The 8th district gave the mandate to Fidesz-KDNP’s Judit Gondos (63 percent), with Laszlo Pityo as runner-up (35 percent), who was supported by the opposition DK, Jobbik, Momentum, the Socialists and LMP.

Laszlo Vasvari, the candidate of the DM, LMP, Momentum, Jobbik, Socialist and Parbeszed parties, won in the 4th district with over 47 percent of the vote, with Fidesz-KDNP’s Fruzsina Drabant garnering 40 percent.

LMP official challenges Karacsony’s view on opposition woes

Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, has got his analysis of the opposition’s election woes wrong, according to Peter Ungar, parliamentary leader of the opposition LMP party.

Commenting on a “disappointing” outcome in Sunday’s by-election, Ungar said on Facebook that whereas Karacsony got it right that voters had punished the opposition for its performance since the April 3 general election, he said the pre-election record of the opposition was hardly brilliant either.

“Given Karacsony’s irredeemable merits in devising the pre-April strategy, he should have allowed his ‘analyst self’ more time to surface before issuing new directives,” Ungar said.

Ungar also disputed Karacsony’s view that voters wanted “much more opposition party unity”, insisting that the opposition had enjoyed one million more votes when there was rivalry between them.