Opposition Wins Budapest and Major Cities — Karácsony Becomes Mayor

On October 13, 2019, in municipal elections, Gergely Karácsony of Párbeszéd/Greens defeated incumbent Fidesz-backed Mayor István Tarlós with 50.86% of the runoff vote to become Budapest Mayor. Opposition candidates also won mayoral races in Miskolc, Pécs, Győr, and Győr for the first time in a decade. The results demonstrated that a united opposition could defeat Fidesz under Hungary's first-past-the-post system and provided the strategic template for the 2022 united opposition PM candidate strategy.