Hungary govt set to hold Budapest, polls show
By Gergely SzakacsBUDAPEST (Reuters) - The Hungarian government looked to have held on to the city of Budapest in local elections on Sunday, in what would be a big boost for embattled Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.
Initial indications, based on opinion polls taken on Friday and Saturday during a blackout period on the publication of polls, showed Free Democrat mayor Gabor Demszky had held the capital.
The Free Democrats are the smaller coalition party in Gyurcsany's Socialist-led government.
The vote came two weeks after the leak of a tape in which Gyurcsany said "we lied in the morning, we lied in the evening" to win the parliamentary election in April.
The leak of that tape caused tens of thousands of people to rally outside parliament and triggered the worst rioting the country has seen since the end of communism in 1989.
A poll by private organisation Tarki showed Demszky had held his seat for the fifth time since 1990 with 51 percent of the vote.
A poll by another private organisation Median showed that he had won with 46 percent of the vote.
Hungary has no exit polls and early indications of election results have traditionally come from opinion polls.
The opposition Fidesz party had cast the elections as the first chance for voters to have their say on the tax rises and subsidy cuts announced since the April ballot.
By 1710 GMT, there were around 5,000 people gathered outside parliament, the scene of sometimes violent protests in the past two weeks.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
News Poll
- Man posted doctored photos of Nik Aziz
- Heartbreaking wait for mum
- Sodomy II: Karpal claims judge lied (Updated)
- The world just got bigger
- Opposition leaders decry court’s ruling
- Weather warning for Perak, Selangor and Sabah
- Thumbs-up for Najib
- 5-0 for BN’s Zambry
- Saiful files report over death threat
- WWF: Orang asli being used
- 60 lose RM25mil in gold investment scam
- Canberra to set new skills list
- Sodomy II: Karpal claims judge lied (Updated)
- Weather warning for Perak, Selangor and Sabah
- MAS offers CNY bargains
- ‘Flashing candy’ a health hazard: Health Ministry
- Saiful files report over death threat
- Fleet card cloning ring busted with arrest of trio
- WWF: Orang asli being used
- Heavy vehicle ban during CNY rush
RSS
