Influences On The 2006 Municipal Elections
On October 1, 2006 municipal elections were held in Hungary. In many cities, demonstrators urged people not to vote for the MSZP candidate. In its campaign leaflets and phone calls, Fidesz constantly referred to Gyurcsány's lies.
In response, Gyurcsány insisted in a speech he held in Szeged on September 15 that the local elections would have no bearing on his party staying in power, and "those who don't want a war between the government and the city should know whom to vote for". (He was catcalled.)
Turnout in the local elections was 53.1%, which was two points higher than in 2002 and the highest for municipal elections since the return to democracy in 1990. Opposition parties booked a clear victory in the elections for county and Budapest assemblies and in the mayoral elections in cities with county rights.
However, the polling firm Median opined that the scandal around Gyurcsany's lying had not affected the outcome of the elections as much as it was expected to, as support for MSZP had already hit an all-time low by early September. Moreover, in Budapest, Gábor Demszky was re-elected city mayor as SZDSZ/MSZP candidate, and the MSzP retained a plurality of district mayoralties.
For fuller detail about the results of the October 2006 local elections, see Elections in Hungary.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Protests In Hungary
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