Hungarians head to polls in shadow of war in Ukraine

Election posters and the Hungarian flag outside a polling station in Budapest (Petr David Josek/AP)

Polls opened across Hungary early on Sunday as voters faced a choice: take a chance on a diverse, Western-looking coalition of opposition parties, or grant nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban a renewed mandate with a fourth consecutive term in office.

The contest is expected to be the closest since Mr Orban came to power in 2010, thanks to Hungary’s six main opposition parties putting aside ideological differences to form a united front against his right-wing Fidesz party.