Socialists Win By-Election in North Budapest

Budapest, November 24 (MTI) – The opposition Socialist Party won a by-election in northern Budapest’s District 4 held on Sunday.

Imre Horvath, the Socialist candidate, garnered 50.6 percent of the votes in the election, followed by the ruling Fidesz candidate with 30.7 percent, and radical nationalist Jobbik with 9.8 percent.

The by-election was held after Peter Kiss, the district’s Socialist representative, died recently.

Socialist chairman Jozsef Tobias said that “voters have expressed their protest and said that this kind of government cannot be continued”. He added that his party would work to “increase society’s rightful anger and transform it into creative energy in parliament”.

Agnes Kunhalmi, the head of the Socialist Party’s Budapest chapter, hailed the victory as “the first step in dismantling Fidesz’s two-thirds majority in parliament”.

Spokesman of the Fidesz group Bence Tuzson told MTI that “nothing has changed, as expected”. The Socialists have retained a mandate they held already, he added.

In a statement, the opposition Democratic Coalition, which had not supported Horvath’s candidacy, said that the result should be “encouraging for all democrats” as it demonstrates that “Orban’s regime can be toppled”.

Photo: MTI – Tamas Kovacs

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters