Hungarians headed to the polls on April 12 in a parliamentary election that could end Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's 16-year grip on power. Within the first hours, voter turnout smashed all previous records - a development widely seen as bad news for the ruling party.

As Hvylya reports, citing Telex, turnout stood at 3.46 percent by 7 a.m. - nearly double the 1.8 percent recorded at the same time in 2022. By 9 a.m., it had climbed to 16.89 percent, compared with just 10.31 percent four years ago.

The main contest is between Orbán and Péter Magyar, leader of the center-right opposition party Tisza. Both candidates had already cast their votes by morning. Orbán told reporters at his polling station that he would congratulate his rival if Magyar wins.

Politico's Poll of Polls puts Tisza at roughly 49-50 percent, with Fidesz trailing at around 39 percent. A 10-point gap is significant, but Hungary's electoral system means vote share doesn't translate directly into parliamentary seats.

Of the 199 seats in parliament, 106 are filled through constituency races under a first-past-the-post system, while 93 come from nationwide party lists. The constituency map was redrawn in 2011 to benefit the ruling party. In 2022, Fidesz turned 54 percent of the list vote into 135 out of 199 seats - nearly 68 percent of parliament.

Another wild card is the postal vote from abroad. A record 500,000 people registered this year, most of them ethnic Hungarians in Romania and Serbia. In 2022, over 90 percent of mail-in ballots went to Fidesz. By Thursday, more than 192,000 postal ballots had already arrived.

Orbán built his campaign around alleged threats from Ukraine. Streets across Hungarian cities were plastered with posters depicting President Zelensky and European officials as dangers to Hungarian sovereignty. The prime minister also promoted Russian energy as a cheaper alternative and accused Ukraine of deliberately halting oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.

The first preliminary results are expected from 8 p.m. But if the race is tight, the final outcome may not be known until the following Saturday, after 100 percent of ballots have been processed.