Gyurcsány argued that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “knows that he would not win once again an absolute majority with his current policies” in 2018, and would want to “escape forward” by way of an early vote. Gyurcsány insisted that Orbán could now be defeated “by his own rules” and called on voters to stay at home on October 2 to thwart the referendum. He argued that 4.1 million voters should turn up at the ballots for the referendum to be valid, while an estimated 3.5 million are willing to participate.

“To convince the missing 600,000 voters, Orbán resorts to intimidation,” Gyurcsány said, and referred to right-wing allegations that municipalities led by left-wing parties would readily accommodate migrants.

Photo: MTI

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.