How Hungary election votes will be counted and when results arrive

According to the National Election Office (Nemzeti Választási Iroda, NVI for short), vote count of Hungary’s 2026 parliamentary election will begin immediately after polls close at 7 PM on Sunday, with preliminary results likely to be published from around 8 PM. These early figures will be released alongside data showing how much of the vote has been processed. However, there might be other scenarios.

This is how the election votes will be counted, and when we will know about it

At the same time, officials will begin counting postal ballots, with updates published continuously. However, not all votes will be included in the initial figures. Ballots cast abroad or submitted via transfer voting may take up to four days to arrive. These votes will later be sorted by constituency and distributed to local election offices, where they will be counted on the Friday or Saturday following election day, reports 24.hu.

Close race could mean delayed final result

By Sunday night, authorities expect to have counted approximately 92–95% of party list votes and 94–97% of constituency ballots. While this provides a strong indication of the outcome, a tightly contested race could leave the final result uncertain. In such cases, the full, official outcome may only become clear once all votes are processed, potentially up to a week later. This means that preliminary results could still shift slightly as the final ballots are included.

We recently published an article on Hungary's 2026 election, how the voting system works and why the winner may not match the popular vote.

New survey shows big Tisza advantage

According to the most recent poll by the IDEA Institute, conducted between 29 March and 4 April, 50 percent of likely voters who have decided on a party would vote for the Tisza Party, while 37 percent would vote for Fidesz–KDNP.

According to the survey published on Thursday, the Tisza Party also holds a significant lead among the general population: 39 percent would vote for Péter Magyar’s party, while 30 percent would keep Viktor Orbán’s government in power. According to the survey, 21 percent of the voting-age population can be considered unaffiliated.

In case you missed it, the latest pre-election poll: could Orbán face his biggest defeat in 16 years?

Can it be a three-party parliament the next four years?

As Telex writes, IDEA also places the Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland Movement) near the electoral threshold. The latest data says it stands at 5 percent among certain voters and 4 percent among the total population. According to the poll, neither the Democratic Coalition nor the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party would make it into the National Assembly.

IDEA released its latest poll data on 12 March; compared to that, Tisza’s lead among certain voters who know which party to choose has increased by 1 percentage point, while the balance of power among the general population remains unchanged, with both parties gaining 1 point each: a shift within the margin of error.

Featured image: depositphotos.com