Radical party candidate wins by-election

With 99.13% of the votes counted, Lajos Rig, candidate of the radical right-wing party Jobbik is set to win the Veszprém county No. 3 constituency by-election ahead of his governing Fidesz party candidate with the joint center-left candidate finishing third.

With five hundred votes to be counted, the difference between the first two politicians is 241 votes, which means that the Fidesz candidate, Zoltán Fenyvesi would have to take 60-70% of the votes cast at the last uncounted polling station to take over Lajos Rig.

It is the first time a Jobbik candidate wins an individual seat in Hungarian parliament. All other Jobbik MPs in the current and previous national assemblies entered parliament from party lists based on total general election results.

Observers agree that it is a major defeat for Hungary's governing Fidesz party that lost its second consecutive by-election – especially that the previous one, also in Veszprém county, was won by the joint candidate of the opposition center-left parties in February this year.