Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he claimed victory in the country’s elections on Sunday night, according to the BBC.
Driving the news: “We have such a victory that you can see it from the moon, but it is certain that you can see it from Brussels,” the far-right leader said in his speech on Sunday night, alluding to his government’s longstanding tensions with the EU European Union, reports CNN.
- “We will remember this victory for the rest of our lives because we had to fight against a huge crowd of opponents,” said the far-right leader, naming political rivals on the Hungarian left, Brussels “bureaucrats”, international media “and those too President of Ukraine.”
Context: Zelenskyy has repeatedly criticized Orbán’s policies, notably calling the Hungarian government a “Russian branch in Europe” while urging EU leaders to “stop listening to Budapest’s excuses”.
- Orbán’s close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin were put to the test in the closing stages of Hungary’s election campaign, Axios’ Zachary Basu reports.
Something to see: The Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) sent a full surveillance mission to Hungary to observe the elections – a rare step taken by the security and rights watchdog in an EU member state, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty notes.
Background: The OSCE said in a preliminary report in February that its points about problems in the 2018 election had not been addressed, and expressed concern about “bias in the public media and the potential for abuse of absentee voting,” reports the outlet.
In the meantime, The OSCE said in a preliminary report in February that its points about problems in the 2018 elections had not been addressed and, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, expressed concern about “bias in the public media and the potential for abuse of postal voting”. .
What you say: Opposition leaders called the campaign “unfair and impossible circumstances,” according to AFP, with state media largely ignoring opposition parties.
Using the numbers: Preliminary results show Orbán’s Fidesz party won 53.1% of the vote, with 98% of the vote counted, according to the BBC, electing him to a fourth term.