# 2019 European Parliament election in Hungary

An election of Members of the European Parliament from Hungary to the European Parliament was held on 26 May 2019, electing the 21 members of the Hungary delegation to the European Parliament as part of the European elections held across the European Union.

## Date of the vote

European Parliament Elections are held every five years in the European Union. The vote had to take place from 23 to 26 May 2019, but the member states could set the exact date. Since Hungarian law states elections can only take place on a Sunday, the only possible date was 26 May 2019. Accordingly, President János Áder announced on 4 March 2019 that the vote would be held on 26 May.

## Background
### Fidesz

During early 2019, the Hungarian government launched a poster campaign targeting European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros. The government campaign accuses Juncker and Soros of wanting “to weaken member states’ rights to protect their own borders” and claims “they want …migrants’ visas”. Due to the poster campaign, some members of the European People's Party (EPP), which the Hungarian governing party Fidesz is a member of, started moves to remove it from the group.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, called those who were calling for his removal from the EPP "Useful idiots".” In response to the political ad campaign, Manfred Weber, Spitzenkandidat of the EPP demanded Orbán apologize for and renounce the criticism levied against the EU by him and his party or face Fidesz's suspension from the EPP.
On 20 March 2019, the European People's Party voted to suspend the membership of Fidesz citing its anti-immigration stance, and personal attacks on Jean-Claude Juncker and George Soros. Prime Minister and Fidesz leader Viktor Orbán had threatened to pull out of the EPP if it was suspended.

## Parties contesting

According to election law, Hungary consists of a single election district and all parties that collect 20,000 valid signatures from eligible citizens are put on the ballot. By the deadline (23 April 2019, 16:00), eleven parties or party alliances had submitted signature lists. Of those, two parties were refused registration, lacking a sufficient number of valid signatures : the United Hungarian National People's Party (EMNP) and the Tea Party Hungary (TPM). Nine qualified lists were approved by the National Election Committee (NVB) to be put on the ballot, of which two of them are shared lists. All parties represented in the Országgyűlés participated in the election, in addition to four extra-parliamentary parties. The parties appeared on the ballot papers in the following randomly drawn order:
Hungarian parties contesting the 2019 European Parliament election :
| Abbr. | Party | Lead candidate | Last election | Last election | EP affiliation |
| MSZP–Párbeszéd | Hungarian Socialist Party–Dialogue for Hungary | Bertalan Tóth | 10.9%+7.25% | 2+1 seats | S&D+Greens/EFA |
| MKKP | Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party | Zsuzsanna Döme | did not contest | did not contest | |
| Jobbik | Movement for a Better Hungary | Márton Gyöngyösi | 14.67% | 3 seats | NI |
| Fidesz–KDNP | Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance–Christian Democratic People's Party | László Trócsányi | 51.48% | 11+1 seats | EPP |
| Momentum | Momentum Movement | Katalin Cseh | did not contest | did not contest | ALDE |
| DK | Democratic Coalition | Klára Dobrev | 9.75% | 2 seats | S&D |
| MH | Our Homeland Movement | László Toroczkai | did not contest | did not contest | |
| Munkáspárt | Hungarian Workers' Party | Gyula Thürmer | did not contest | did not contest | |
| LMP | Politics Can Be Different | Gábor Vágó | 5.04% | 1 seat | Greens/EFA |

## Opinion polling

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Fidesz-KDNP | MSZP-Párbeszéd | DK | Jobbik | Momentum | LMP | MKKP | MH | Lead |
| 2019 election | 26 May 2019 | 52.62 | 6.62 | 16.09 | 6.37 | 9.83 | 2.17 | 2.61 | 3.30 | 36.81 |
| Nézőpont | 25 May 2019 | 55 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 41 |
| Politico | 24 May 2019 | 55.08 | 8.51 | 10.68 | 9.53 | 6.02 | 3.34 | 3.00 | 1.53 | 44.40 |
| Publicus | 16-22 May 2019 | 52 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 39 |
| Medián Archived 2019-05-23 at the Wayback Machine | 15-18 May 2019 | 52 | 10.5 | 10 | 11.5 | 5.5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 40.5 |
| Századvég | 10-18 May 2019 | 54.8 | 7.5 | 11.8 | 9.7 | 6.5 | 3.2 | 0 | 3.2 | 43 |
| MR Center Archived 2019-05-26 at the Wayback Machine | 15 May 2019 | 42.1 | 9.5 | 8.3 | 9.8 | 6.2 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 8.3 | 32.3 |
| Nézőpont | May 2019 | 54 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 44 |
| Závecz Research | 4-14 May 2019 | 53 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 41 |
| Idea Institute | 2-6 May 2019 | 50 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 37 |
| Nézőpont | 1-26 April 2019 | 57 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 47 |
| Závecz Research | 15-25 April 2019 | 57 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 44 |
| MR Center Archived 2019-05-10 at the Wayback Machine | 16-26 April 2019 | 50.30 | 9.23 | 10.20 | 10.35 | 6.25 | 3.70 | 4.70 | 1.40 | 49.95 |
| Századvég | 10-21 April 2019 | 54 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 40 |
| Závecz Research | April 2019 | 53 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| Medián | Mar-Apr 2019 | 53 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 41 |
| Idea Institute | 29 Mar-1 Apr 2019 | 48 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 34 |
| Publicus | 13-20 March 2019 | 52 | 15 | 6 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 36 |
| Závecz Research | March 2019 | 50 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 36 |
| Nézőpont | 1-28 March 2019 | 56 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 44 |
| Idea Institute | 28 Feb-3 Mar 2019 | 47 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 30 |
| Nézőpont | 31 Jan-22 Feb 2019 | 54 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 41 |
| Nézőpont | 31 Jan-22 Feb 2019 | 54 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 41 |
| European Parliament | 5-15 February 2019 | 53.0 | 12.3 | 8.3 | 13.3 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 39.7 |
| Závecz Research | 3-10 February 2019 | 49 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 35 |
| European Parliament Archived 2019-05-27 at the Wayback Machine | 6 February 2019 | 49.3 | 13.3 | 7.2 | 15.5 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 33.8 |
| 2014 election | 25 May 2014 | 51.48 | 10.90 | 9.75 | 14.67 | – | 5.04 | – | – | 36.81 |

## Results

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
| | Fidesz-KDNP | 1,824,220 | 52.56 | 13 | +1 |
| | Democratic Coalition | 557,081 | 16.05 | 4 | +2 |
| | Momentum Movement | 344,512 | 9.93 | 2 | New |
| | Hungarian Socialist Party–Dialogue for Hungary | 229,551 | 6.61 | 1 | –2 |
| | Jobbik | 220,184 | 6.34 | 1 | –2 |
| | Our Homeland Movement | 114,156 | 3.29 | 0 | New |
| | Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party | 90,912 | 2.62 | 0 | New |
| | Politics Can Be Different | 75,498 | 2.18 | 0 | –1 |
| | Hungarian Workers' Party | 14,452 | 0.42 | 0 | New |
| Total | Total | 3,470,566 | 100.00 | 21 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 3,470,566 | 99.49 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 17,775 | 0.51 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 3,488,341 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 8,008,353 | 43.56 | | |
| Source: Valasztas.hu ||||||

### By county and in the diaspora

| County results in % | Fidesz-KDNP | DK | Momentum | MSZP-Párbeszéd | Jobbik | MH | MKKP | LMP | Munkáspárt | Total Votes Cast | Turnout |
| Baranya | 50.13 | 18.43 | 9.44 | 6.63 | 6.06 | 3.13 | 2.89 | 2.84 | 0.46 | 125,673 | 41.35% |
| Bács-Kiskun | 58.81 | 13.43 | 7.27 | 5.08 | 7.05 | 3.67 | 2.19 | 2.10 | 0.39 | 166,013 | 39.80% |
| Békés | 52.70 | 16.74 | 6.80 | 6.17 | 8.65 | 4.09 | 2.14 | 2.01 | 0.46 | 109,775 | 38.65% |
| Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén | 51.65 | 15.77 | 5.79 | 7.15 | 11.69 | 4.02 | 1.82 | 1.52 | 0.59 | 202,268 | 38.31% |
| Budapest (capital) | 41.17 | 19.79 | 17.35 | 9.04 | 3.18 | 2.32 | 3.83 | 2.98 | 0.34 | 689,526 | 52.51% |
| Csongrád | 49.32 | 13.89 | 9.47 | 11.53 | 5.38 | 4.95 | 2.99 | 2.07 | 0.42 | 145,393 | 43.90% |
| Fejér | 53.83 | 16.01 | 9.15 | 5.31 | 7.03 | 3.69 | 2.58 | 1.98 | 0.43 | 148,563 | 43.38% |
| Győr-Moson-Sopron | 59.17 | 13.74 | 8.44 | 4.90 | 5.79 | 3.26 | 2.28 | 2.07 | 0.35 | 166,602 | 46.36% |
| Hajdú-Bihar | 57.37 | 14.16 | 7.96 | 5.54 | 7.14 | 3.17 | 2.21 | 1.95 | 0.47 | 156,691 | 36.55% |
| Heves | 52.63 | 16.12 | 7.14 | 5.83 | 10.26 | 3.95 | 1.88 | 1.74 | 0.46 | 100,093 | 41.38% |
| Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok | 53.44 | 14.95 | 6.00 | 6.53 | 9.60 | 5.28 | 1.93 | 1.58 | 0.70 | 113,542 | 37.42% |
| Komárom-Esztergom | 50.08 | 19.65 | 8.56 | 5.59 | 7.34 | 3.50 | 2.61 | 2.22 | 0.43 | 101,790 | 41.40% |
| Nógrád | 56.90 | 15.65 | 5.11 | 7.27 | 6.76 | 4.47 | 1.57 | 1.40 | 0.86 | 61,936 | 39.38% |
| Pest | 51.38 | 15.55 | 11.70 | 5.64 | 5.29 | 3.34 | 3.23 | 2.54 | 0.34 | 449,270 | 44.20% |
| Somogy | 55.30 | 17.22 | 6.44 | 5.38 | 8.90 | 2.87 | 1.79 | 1.67 | 0.43 | 102,981 | 40.70% |
| Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg | 60.66 | 13.45 | 5.32 | 6.27 | 8.25 | 2.92 | 1.45 | 1.25 | 0.42 | 170,754 | 38.05% |
| Tolna | 59.02 | 14.40 | 6.63 | 5.98 | 6.11 | 3.53 | 2.01 | 1.88 | 0.43 | 73,036 | 40.17% |
| Vas | 61.03 | 13.03 | 7.42 | 5.63 | 6.43 | 2.40 | 2.01 | 1.76 | 0.29 | 100,169 | 48.80% |
| Veszprém | 54.75 | 15.20 | 8.22 | 5.96 | 7.53 | 3.50 | 2.39 | 2.06 | 0.38 | 129,678 | 45.32% |
| Zala | 58.13 | 15.63 | 6.91 | 4.84 | 6.81 | 3.58 | 1.86 | 1.89 | 0.34 | 100,565 | 44.72% |
| Foreign representations | 41.30 | 9.60 | 29.04 | 6.37 | 2.29 | 2.07 | 5.22 | 4.00 | 0.11 | 17,749 | 87.47% |
| Diaspora | 95.97 | 0.60 | 0.96 | 0.45 | 0.32 | 0.63 | 0.58 | 0.36 | 0.12 | 57,777 | 55.29% |
| Total | 52.56 | 16.05 | 9.93 | 6.61 | 6.34 | 3.29 | 2.62 | 2.18 | 0.42 | | |

### European groups

| European group | European group | Seats 2014 | Seats 2019 | Change |
| European People's Party | EPP | 12 / 21 | 13 / 21 | 1 |
| Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats | S&D | 4 / 21 | 5 / 21 | 1 |
| Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe | ALDE | 0 | 2 / 21 | 2 |
| Non-Inscrits | NI | 3 / 21 | 1 / 21 | 2 |
| The Greens–European Free Alliance | Greens-EFA | 2 / 21 | 0 | 2 |
| | | 21 | 21 | |

## Analysis

These elections marked the change of balance in Hungarian politics. Although Fidesz-KNDP remained largest and dominant party, but MSZP and Jobbik were replaced by Democratic Coalition and Momentum Movement as leading opposition parties. LMP was wiped off from political sphere. The results of the European elections in Hungary were also viewed with interest for their potential implications in the upcoming local elections in 2019. András Bódis of Válasz Online noted possibility that in some municipalities joint opposition candidates can defeat Fidesz-KNDP candidates.