Election 2024 – Magyar: Tisza to prove itself as government’s ‘only real challenger’
“Whatever result we achieve will probably be sensational,” Magyar said at Tisza’s ballot-watch in Budapest.
“We’ll see Tisza achieve what no opposition party has over the last 14 years, not DK … or its satellite parties,” he added.
Magyar said his party welcomed the high turnout because it considered elections to be “a celebration of democracy”.
Meanwhile, he said his party would file complaints based on reports that ruling Fidesz was “bussing voters to polling stations and buying votes”.
He said the next task would be to build the party, as there were “many thousands of people” who wanted to join Tisza. The party, he added, would also put together a platform and “conclude a social contract with the Hungarian people”.
Magyar said that unlike Fidesz, which he said had spent “tens of billions in taxpayer money on the campaign and smearing its opponents”, Tisza had funded its campaign from transparent sources. He said they did not collect “micro donations”, and voters could only support Tisza via bank transfer.
Commenting on the local elections, Magyar said it was “strange” that Fidesz had backed David Vitezy, the candidate of Politics Can Be Different (LMP), for Budapest mayor, “when, according to Fidesz’s propaganda, LMP is a pro-war party”. “This means Fidesz is supporting a pro-war mayoral candidate,” he said.
Magyar said he had not voted for either Vitezy or the incumbent mayor, Gergely Karacsony, “because one is the candidate of [Democratic Coalition leader Ferenc] Gyurcsany and the other of Fidesz”. He said that if Tisza won seats in the Budapest municipal assembly, they would work with the mayor on specific issues, but would not take up any formal positions.