Final vote on strength of Hungary's centre-right government

Apr 25, 2010, 15:32 GMT

Budapest - Hungarian voters headed to the polls at 0400 GMT Sunday for the second round of general elections that will decide whether the centre-right party Fidesz will have to settle for the absolute majority it secured two weeks ago, or will achieve an unprecedented two-thirds majority.

Such a supermajority would give Fidesz, led by 46-year-old Viktor Orban, the power to make major structural changes, such as implementing the party's pledge to reduce by half the size of Hungary's parliament.

After the first round of voting on April 11, Fidesz had already won a landslide victory over the governing Socialists, emerging as the clear winner with 206 of 386 seats in Hungary's parliament already secured.

In Sunday's ballot, voters are faced with deciding how many of 57 undecided constituencies will also go to Orban's party.

In the first round of voting - when an outright majority of 50 per cent was needed to secure a constituency seat - Fidesz finished ahead of its rivals in all but one of the undecided constituencies.

Opposing parties have campaigned vigorously for two weeks, urging voters to deny Fidesz a supermajority and Orban a 'dictatorial' level of power.

However, many analysts believe the centre-right party is likely to win in at least the 52 constituencies it needs to secure an unprecedented two-thirds of seats.

Only a surge in support or tactical voting in favour of the hitherto governing Socialists, the far-right party Jobbik or the green-liberal party LMP could rob Fidesz of the double victory it hopes for.

However, a recent opinion poll suggested that a majority - 57 per cent - of Hungarians believe a strong Fidesz government would be good for Hungary.

The Socialists won just 19 per cent in the first round, narrowly ahead of the far-right party Jobbik, which is set to enter parliament for the first time after winning 17 per cent of the vote.

The only other party to secure a place in the next parliament was the LMP, whose name means 'Politics Can be Different,' which won 7.5 per cent of votes.

All the runner up parties will be hoping to increase their presence on the opposition benches by a few seats through the second round of voting.

In Hungary's complex electoral system, votes for parties that failed to win in constituency ballots are pooled, and extra seats in parliament are distributed to runners up through a proportional representation 'compensation list'.

Polling stations were due to close at 1700 GMT, and preliminary results expected late on Sunday evening.