Center-right Fidesz secures two-thirds majority in Hungarian elections

[FarCenter]

Hungary's center-right Fidesz party has won a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the second round of national elections, giving the new government sweeping powers to push through reforms and boost growth.

The party of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the center-right Fidesz, has pledged to build a "new system" after winning an unprecedented two-thirds majority in the second round of national elections, according to preliminary data from the National Election Office.

"We have been able to bring about great change through democratic means that previously we could have only done with a revolution," Orban told a jubilant crowd in the capital Budapest.

With nearly all votes counted, Fidesz is set to fill 263 of 386 seats in parliament. Holding a two-thirds majority means Orban can form the first non-coalition government in post-communist history, enabling Fidesz to fast-track reforms and structural changes.

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Swing to the right

Hungary's swing to the right was further underscored by the Jobbik party's first entry into parliament with 47 seats, making it the third-largest force in parliament. The far-right party is known for its anti-Roma, anti-Semitic and anti-EU stance. The new left-wing green LMP party took 16 seats.

Socialist leader Ildiko Lendvai, whose party has been in government for the last eight years, has handed in her resignation after her party won just 59 seats, according to preliminary data.

Fidesz had won an outright majority in the first round of the elections on April 11 by winning 206 of 386 seats.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5504778,00.html