Having been entrusted with an unprecedented mandate, the Tisza Party now bears a historic responsibility for Hungary and its nation, President Tamás Sulyok told the inaugural session of parliament on Saturday.
The new government must concern itself with “advancing and strengthening the country’s and the nation’s communities as well as ensuring their ability to withstand challenges,” the president said, according to state news agency MTI.
The president asked for constructive cooperation on issues that could “facilitate the nation’s progress and bolster peace and the tranquility of public life,” and proposed that the National Assembly elect Péter Magyar as prime minister.
Earlier, Hungary’s new parliament was ceremonially formed when the lawmakers elected in the April 12 general election took their oath of office, officially concluding the mandate of the Fidesz-Christian Democrat government formed in 2022. Ahead of the oath-taking, parliament had unanimously certified the mandates of all lawmakers and representatives of ethnic minorities, with 193 votes in favor. Representatives of Hungary’s national minorities took their oath in Lovari and Boyash (two distinct Northern Romani dialects), Romanian and Croatian.
Record Turnout
The 2026 parliamentary election had been carried out in accordance with the country’s constitution and legal framework, Attila Nagy, the head of the National Election Office (NVI), told the inaugural session, according to MTI. Nagy said the election had been administered by more than 110,000 officials across 10,047 polling stations and 149 foreign missions, including 20,000 election office staff, 50,000 elected officials and 40,000 delegated committee members. Some 879 international observers oversaw the process, which saw a record 79% turnout, he said.
Meanwhile, state news agency MTI reported that László Toroczkai, the leader of the ultra-right Our Homeland Movement, had vowed to lead his parliamentary group out of the chamber before the playing of the European Union anthem, Ode to Joy, at today’s inaugural session of Hungary’s National Assembly.
Toroczkai justified the decision by saying that “an anthem belongs to a state, and we cannot accept this.” The group said that after the walkout, their MPs would take a separate oath before the Holy Crown in Parliament’s Dome Hall.
