Hungary's Orban: '95% Say No to Ukraine in the EU!'

Hungary’s government has claimed that an overwhelming 95% of respondents in a recent national consultation rejected Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, according to a report by Hungarian outlet Telex on June 26. The survey, organized by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s administration, has become a focal point of controversy due to its reliability, transparency, and notably low participation.

The consultation involved 2,278,000 people - about 29% of the electorate that took part in the 2024 European Parliament elections. Of those, authorities say only 5% supported Ukraine's EU membership. However, critics have raised serious concerns about the methodology. Telex noted that users could cast multiple votes using different email addresses, suggesting the online system could be manipulated. Moreover, there were questions about the accuracy of verifying who voted by both mail and digital platforms.

Government spokesman Gergely Gulyas defended the legitimacy of the process, stating that printed ballots were notarized and that electronic votes, which made up around 10% of all responses, were undergoing verification. But he admitted he couldn’t confirm whether duplicate voting across platforms was being detected. These vulnerabilities have contributed to skepticism surrounding the results, especially as they were published just before a key European Council summit, which may grant Orban political leverage on Ukraine’s EU path.

Hungary has veto power over further enlargement decisions, and Orban has made no secret of his opposition to Ukraine’s EU aspirations. He has argued that Kyiv’s accession could have catastrophic consequences for Hungary, going so far as to say in April that it would “destroy” the country. He also publicly documented his vote against Ukraine’s bid, sharing an image of himself marking “against” on a ballot paper.

The opposition has sharply criticized the consultation, with opposition figure Peter Magyar dismissing it as a tool of “government propaganda.” He cited internal figures from the Hungarian postal service suggesting that only between 3% and 7% of mailed ballots were actually returned. He described it as the lowest turnout for any government consultation to date.

Orban’s government has made repeated use of such referenda-like consultations since 2010 - over a dozen have been conducted. Though non-binding, these surveys typically feature leading questions aligned with government messaging. Past topics have included EU migration policy and LGBTQ rights. In a similar effort last year, the government asked Hungarians whether they supported the EU’s supposed plans to build “migrant ghettos” - 99% voted no, with fewer than 20% participating.

Orban, widely seen as the EU’s most pro-Kremlin leader, has consistently stalled military support for Ukraine and maintained friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. His opponents and Western observers accuse him of undermining democratic institutions, citing growing concerns about press freedom, the judiciary, and electoral integrity.

Despite the low turnout and procedural doubts, Orban is expected to use the consultation results to further his resistance to Ukraine’s EU integration efforts, reinforcing his narrative both domestically and in Brussels.