Hungary to hold general election on April 3

Budapest, Jan 12 (IANS) Hungary's President Janos Ader has set April 3 as the date for the country's 2022 general election.

In the previous election held in 2018, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and its coalition partner Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) won 49.27 per cent of the vote, which translated into 133 seats in the country's 199-seat unicameral Parliament.

The country's six major opposition parties -- the Democratic Coalition (DK), Jobbik, LMP -- Hungary's Green Party, Momentum Movement, Hungarian Socialist Party and Dialogue for Hungary -- have decided to unite before the election to maximise their chances to win.

The opposition alliance held primary elections in October 2021 to pick Orban's challenger, Xinhua news agency reported.

Peter Marki-Zay, the 49-year-old conservative mayor of Hodmezovasarhely in southeast Hungary, came out as the primary's winner.

A political party must receive five per cent of the vote to enter Parliament.