Áder President for another five years

Running against opposition candidate ex-ombudsman László Majtényi, Áder garnered 131 votes to Majtényi’s 44 — with 24 MPs abstaining — in the first round, just missing the 133 two-thirds majority needed to win the position outright. Thus the first round of the election was rendered inconclusive, and voting progressed to a second round, where a simple majority was sufficient. This meant Áder’s reelection was not in doubt, as Fidesz-KDNP holds 131 seats in Parliament.

Eventually, 170 MPs cast their votes in the second round (all were declared valid with no spoiled votes), 131 in favor of Áder and Majtényi receiving 39, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.

Áder has been widely criticized in the Hungarian media for delivering a 15-minute speech that barely touched on politics before the election. Meanwhile, expectedly, opposition’s Majtényi expressed strong criticism of the governing party, arguing for his election by saying that only institutions can stop the governing layer from forcing through its will easily.

Securing two-thirds majorities in the elections of 2010 and 2014, the Fidesz government faced no competition in lawmaking and voting, until it lost its two-thirds majority through two by-elections last year.