Ruling Fidesz and challenger Tisza both secure signatures in all Hungarian constituencies on first day of campaign

Hungary’s official election campaign for the 2026 parliamentary vote began on Saturday morning with a rapid show of strength from both the ruling Fidesz–KDNP alliance and the opposition Tisza Party, as both parties announced they had already collected the required number of nomination signatures in all 106 individual constituencies.

Under Hungarian election law, each parliamentary candidate must gather at least 500 valid voter recommendations to be officially registered. Although the collection period runs until early March, both political camps claimed to have met the threshold within hours of the campaign’s launch.

Orbán: “We are big, we are strong”

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Facebook on Saturday morning that Fidesz candidates had already secured the necessary backing nationwide.

“We are big, we are strong and we will win,” he wrote.

Later, he shared a short video while travelling to Békéscsaba, speaking by phone with party director Gábor Kubatov, who reported that their first completed set of signatures came from Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. Orbán said activists were receiving a positive reception from voters and dismissed suggestions of a growing anti-government mood as “a huge lie”.

Tisza claims early lead