The Hungarian opposition has announced it will not take part in the parliamentary vote to elect the country’s new president, marking a significant escalation in the political standoff between the ruling Tisza party and former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz alliance.
The decision, confirmed by Fidesz on Wednesday via social media, means the election will proceed without the participation of the largest opposition bloc, raising questions about the democratic legitimacy of the outcome.
This move follows a pattern of increasing parliamentary disruption.
Earlier this week, opposition lawmakers boycotted a session on the government’s 17th constitutional amendment, leaving only representatives of the ruling Tisza party and a small faction of the ultra-conservative Our Homeland Movement in attendance.
The absence of opposition voices has allowed the government to advance its legislative agenda with minimal debate, but at the cost of heightened political polarization.
The boycott of the presidential vote is likely to intensify scrutiny from European Union institutions, which have long monitored Hungary’s democratic backsliding.