A by-election held Sunday in the 7th district of Kazincbarcika, Hungary, resulted in a win for Attila Kaló, the candidate representing the ruling Fidesz party. Kaló secured 283 votes, surpassing independent candidate Ágnes Sütő, who received 228 votes, and Erzsébet Séllyei of the Városvédők civil organization, who garnered 134 votes. The Fidesz winner received 43.21 percent of the votes cast.
Voter turnout was low, with less than a quarter of eligible voters participating. Of the 2,821 eligible voters, 658 cast ballots, resulting in a participation rate of 23.33 percent.
Despite the Tisza Party not fielding a candidate in the election, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Fidesz have framed the outcome as a victory against the opposition party. Orbán posted to social media even before the official results were released by the National Election Office, stating, “Huge victory in Kazincbarcika in the by-election. Reality vs. Tisza: 2:0. We have won an individual municipal district in this settlement after 16 years.”
Other figures aligned with the government similarly commented on the election results. Dániel Bohár claimed that Séllyei, who received the fewest votes, was actually a candidate for the Tisza Party. Tamás Menczer asserted that the losing candidate was a member of a local “Tisza island.” Bohár went further in another post, suggesting that the result would offer Endre Hann, the director of Medián, “a difficult evening.” Fidesz had previously launched attacks on Hann after the research institute published a survey indicating the Tisza Party led Fidesz among likely voters by a margin of 55-35.
