PM Orbán Will Not Take His Seat for Next Parliamentary Cycle

Outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary has announced that he will not be taking his seat in the National Assembly for the 2026–2030 parliamentary cycle.

This is a major development in Hungarian history that signals the beginning of a new era. Orbán has held a seat in parliament since the very first parliamentary election was held in the Third Hungarian Republic, following the fall of the communist regime, in April 1990.

The outgoing head of government posted a video message to his Facebook page after he had met with the leadership of his right-wing conservative Fidesz Party on Saturday, 25 April. This was just his second public video post since the 12 April election, which ended in a landslide victory for the opposition Tisza Party.