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Election results will soon be official, so what happens next?

With 98.74 percent of votes already counted and a high 69.54 percent turnout, Fidesz-KDNP secured a fourth consecutive two-thirds majority in the Hungarian National Assembly.

When the votes from abroad are counted and tabulated, the composition of Hungary’s next parliament will be official. Fidesz-KDNP won 134 or 135 seats out of 199 (letter votes could potentially alter the results in Budapest’s District XVI, as the Fidesz-KDNP candidate’s lead there is only 0.07 percent). The united opposition will thus take 56 or 57 mandates, while newcomer Mi Hazánk will send 7 MPs. The ethnic German minority will also be represented by a single lawmaker.

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Exercising his right under Hungary’s constitution, President János Áder will set the date for the inaugural session of the country’s new parliament for a day that typically falls in the first half of May. The president will begin the session by making a motion to nominate an individual to be the country’s next prime minister, usually the prime ministerial candidate of the winning party, who is then elected with a simple majority of the votes. At the same time, the head of state requests that the prime minister form a new government.

As to any possible changes in the setup of the Hungarian government, we will soon learn about this from Prime Minister Orbán.

Tradition dictates that the inaugural session will also elect a parliamentary speaker, deputy speakers and notaries via secret ballot.

Stay tuned for the official results in a couple of days.