2024 Budapest mayoral election

2024 Budapest mayoral election

9 June 2024

Candidate Gergely Karácsony Dávid Vitézy Party Dialogue Independent Alliance DK–MSZP–P VDB–LMP

Mayor before election Gergely Karácsony Dialogue Elected Mayor TBD

The 2024 Budapest mayoral election will be held on 9 June 2024 to elect the mayor of Budapest (főpolgármester). However, the elected mayor will only take office in October. On the same day, local elections will also be held throughout Hungary, including the districts of Budapest which will determine the composition of the General Assembly. The election is run using a first-past-the-post voting system. The winner of the election will serve for a term of five years.

Candidates

Announced candidates

• Gergely Karácsony, incumbent Mayor (2019–), supported by DK, MSZP, Dialogue and Momentum
• Dávid Vitézy, former director of the Centre for Budapest Transport (2010–2014), former state secretary for transportation (2022), supported by LMP
• András Grundtner, supported by Our Homeland Movement

Withdrawn candidates

• Koloman Brenner, member of parliament (2018–), supported by Jobbik; withdrew on 19 April 2024, in favor of Dávid Vitézy.
• Alexandra Szentkirályi, government spokesperson (2020–2024), former deputy mayor of Budapest (2014–2019), supported by Fidesz-KDNP; withdrew on 7 June 2024, in favor of Dávid Vitézy.

Campaign

Dávid Vitézy and Gergely Karácsony campaign posters for the 2024 Budapest mayoral elections.

Gergely Karácsony (DK–MSZP–P)

Incumbent mayor Gergely Karácsony announced his intention to run for a second term on 20 March 2023. He became the joint candidate of the newly formed DK–MSZP–Dialogue Alliance for the position of mayor on 28 March 2024, also leading its General Assembly party list. The Momentum Movement endorsed Karácsony's mayoral candidacy too, but decided to run the election with a separate party list.

Karácsony called Budapest as "republic" and "island of freedom" during his campaign. He argued the people of Budapest will have an easy time with the election, because for the citizens of the capital, the government only has a declaration of war. The values ​​on which against the government builds its policy denying them are present in Budapest, he added. Karácsony emphasized that, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global energy crisis, the Fidesz government took a lot of powers and financial resources away from Budapest in the last five years purely for political interests, which made the city budget unstable, therefore, the implementation of many projects was delayed or became impossible. During his campaign, Karácsony argued that the city's future is decided by whether they can provide affordable housing in the short and long term. In this regard, he wanted to rely on directly callable EU funds, bypassing the government's distributive role. Karácsony argued that he demonstrated his cooperation ability with the government with the fact that a common tariff system was established with the participation of Hungarian State Railways (MÁV), Volánbusz and Budapesti Közlekedési Zrt.. Under Karácsony, the BuBi bicycle sharing network was also re-organized and expanded. Karácsony established a housing agency which provides municipal housing for the homeless. The reconstruction of the Metro Line M3 was finished under his term, but the lack of accessibility and air-conditioning remained an unfulfilled campaign promise. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge and Blaha Lujza tér were also renovated.

Karácsony considered during the campaign that independent contender Dávid Vitézy was also a candidate of Fidesz beside the "official" candidate Szentkirályi. He considered that one of them will withdraw sometime during the campaign. Both Vitézy and Szentkirályi refused the allegations. Despite the continuous denials, Szentkirályi actually withdrew on 7 June. Karácsony and the opposition parties supported him were talking about the "end of Orbán's play", arguing Vitézy was the real candidate of Fidesz, whose independence could confuse and divide anti-government voters. According to Karácsony, this was Fidesz's plan from the beginning, because the opposition parties are clearly in the majority in the capital. According to him, Vitézy would not be able to effectively oppose the ruling party if he were elected mayor with the help of Fidesz. According to him, the city is strong until its backbone is broken. "The mayorship of Dávid Vitézy would tell the world that Budapest was silenced and oppressed", he argued. Karácsony considered the people of Budapest can choose the people of power or the power of the people. He argued that Vitézy's sympathizers became victims of an "evil power struggle" and "there is only one Fidesz, the one whose goal is to preserve its power and preserve its economic interests". He added that Vitézy's ambitious visions can only be realized if the government provides financial support for this, and Vitézy is not aware of the real state of the capital's budget.

Dávid Vitézy (VDB–LMP)

Transport and urban mobility expert Dávid Vitézy announced his candidacy on 19 March 2024, as the candidate of his own civic organization Association with Dávid Vitézy for Budapest (VDB) and LMP – Hungary's Green Party. During his campaign, Vitézy presented himself as a technocrat outsider, who rejected both Fidesz government policy and the left-wing opposition, which administered Budapest. According to him, Budapest became a political battleground between the government and Karácsony since 2019, which resulted in the cessation of major investments and the halting of major developments. Karácsony used his position as a "national opposition" and "martyr", according to him, even in such headwinds by the government, more could have been achieved during the five years, but there is no continuous negotiation between the two parties.

Vitézy outlined the five biggest problems to be solved: housing and expensive sublets, continuous traffic jams from the outer districts and agglomeration, deterioration of health care, little green space and development always only reaches the inner, tourist-frequented districts. He campaigned to set up law enforcement on BKK lines against violent and homeless passengers, he would build 10,000 new service apartment and would banish party politicians from the boards of Budapest companies, where he would also introduce the one-third female quota. He presented his 101-point programme with the title "There is much more to this city!". Among others, Vitézy promised to build 5 new tram lines, to renovate and make accessibility of suburban junctions, renovation of BHÉV lines and complete replacement of vehicles, construction green parks along the banks of the Danube. On the same day, Jobbik candidate Koloman Brenner withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Vitézy. Vitézy took part in a harsh YouTube debate with Karácsony on 31 May 2024 (Partizán), where he confronted the mayor with the non-fulfillment of his previous specific promises. Vitézy argued Karácsony deals with party politics instead of the development of Budapest, and for him the city, which functioned as a "shadow government" under him, is only a tool for his political battles against Fidesz.

During the entire campaign, Vitézy's former affiliation to the ruling party Fidesz raised questions regarding his independent status. In addition, LMP leader Péter Ungár was also considered a part of the "systemic opposition" of Viktor Orbán's regime. The European Green Party formally suspended LMP's membership due to its support of Vitézy. While Gergely Karácsony was a subject of defamatory campaign in the government media, it remained silent regarding Vitézy's candidacy, whose campaign was completely ignored in their reports. Karácsony and the left-wing opposition parties accused Vitézy of actually being the "hidden" candidate of Fidesz, citing his former positions and family relations under the Orbán governments. Karácsony considered Fidesz "official" candidate Alexandra Szentkirályi will withdraw in favor of Vitézy sometime during the campaign. Both Vitézy and Szentkirályi refused the allegations. However, Szentkirályi indeed withdrew her candidacy and endorsed Vitézy on 7 June 2024, two days before the election. Pro-government media unanimously encouraged the election of Vitézy, but the support of the Fidesz–KDNP list in the simultaneous General Assembly election. Karácsony and the opposition parties supported him were talking about the "end of Orbán's play", arguing Vitézy was the real candidate of Fidesz, whose independence could confuse and divide anti-government voters. Vitézy refused these allegations, confirming that in the event of his victory, he will not form a coalition with either Fidesz or DK. According to his claim, the withdrawal was a unilateral decision by Fidesz, it was not preceded by any secret pact. He emphasized that those who support him as mayor also support the VDB–LMP list in the general assembly vote.

Alexandra Szentkirályi (Fidesz–KDNP)

A campaign poster of Alexandra Szentkirályi photographed in Budapest's 3rd district.

On 14 March 2024, it was announced that Alexandra Szentkirályi, the party's spokesperson and former deputy mayor, will be the candidate of Fidesz for Mayor of Budapest in the 2014 election. During her activity, Szentkirályi ran an exclusively defamatory campaign against Karácsony, frequently called him as the "puppet" of former prime minister and opposition leader Ferenc Gyurcsány. Under the slogan "Budapest needs change", she tried to prove Karácsony's incompetence in numerous TikTok videos, but she did not publish her own program or vision. Fidesz leaders, including PM Viktor Orbán remained remarkably passive during her campaign, according to analysts, Fidesz priced the defeat in advance. Szentkirályi refused to attend debates against Karácsony and Vitézy, and, with the exception of pro-government media, she did not give any interviews to the media.

Karácsony considered Fidesz "official" candidate Szentkirályi will withdraw in favor of Vitézy sometime during the campaign. Both Vitézy and Szentkirályi refused the allegations throughout the campaign. However, Szentkirályi withdrew her candidacy on 7 June, two days before the election and endorsed Vitézy. Pro-government media unanimously encouraged the election of Vitézy as mayor, but the support of the Fidesz–KDNP list in the simultaneous General Assembly election.

András Grundtner (MHM)

The far-right Our Homeland Movement nominated jurist András Grundtner as their mayoral candidate on 2 September 2023.

Debates

2024 Budapest Mayoral election debates
Date	Broadcasters	P  Present   I  Invited   A  Absent   N  Not invited
		Karácsony	Szentkirályi	Vitézy	Grundtner
31 May	Partizán	P	A	P	N

Opinion polling

Pollster/client(s)	Date(s) conducted	Sample size
			Karácsony	Szentkirályi	Vitézy	Brenner	Grundtner	Undecided
Publicus	4–6 June 2024	1,042	50%	–	47%	–	3%	–
			64%	32%	–	–	3%	–
			51%	22%	7%	–	3%	15%
Századvég	30 May–4 June 2024	1000	42%	–	48%	–	4%	6%
			40%	27%	28%	–	2%	3%
Medián	23–25 May 2024	1000	41%	–	40%	–	–	20%
			38%	23%	21%	–	–	19%
Medián	17–22 May 2024	1000	46%	26%	24%	–	4%	0%
Republikon	7–10 May 2024	800	40%	30%	25%	–	3%	3%
Publicus	6–10 May 2024	1055	47%	–	36%	–	2%	16%
			46%	19%	23%	–	3%	9%
Závecz Research	15–21 April 2024	?	38%	16%	22%	–	1%	23%
Pulzus	19–21 Mar 2024	500	39%	16%	22%	1%	2%	20%
Publicus	8–14 Mar 2024	1075	47%	–	34%	1%	5%	11%
Republikon	21–23 Feb 2024	800	53%	–	34%	4%	9%	0%