Tens of thousands of Hungarians took to the streets in Budapest for a second consecutive Saturday to protest against newly reelected Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The crowd marched through the city to a rally where speakers demanded a non-partisan public media.
Campaigning hard against immigration, the 54-year-old Orban's overwhelming victory April 8 saw his Fidesz party secure around half the vote. But among criticisms regarding the fairness of the election, observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation said the campaign was marked by media bias. As part of sweeping reforms since he came into power in 2010, Orban has turned the public media channels into what his critics call "government mouthpieces". Many of the demonstrators, most of whom were young, chanted "democracy" and brandished Hungarian and European Union flags.
An organiser, Viktor Gyetvai, 20, told AFP the protest "was not going to change the system overnight" but was aimed at sparking a "civil movement" to challenge Orban. "These are first steps, a sign that there are many Hungarians who want to live in a democracy, with independent institutions, and a free media," said Gyetvai. More demonstrations will be held in provincial cities in coming weeks, he added. Last Saturday some 100,000 protestors held a protest in Budapest days after Orban's win.
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