(Bloomberg) -- Budapest’s liberal mayor secured a second term in office after a court-mandated recount confirmed his victory over a rival endorsed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The lead for Gergely Karacsony, who has led the Hungarian capital since 2019, grew from a razor-thin 41 votes to 293 after the recount, with more than 700,000 votes cast, the country’s election board said. His opponent was David Vitezy, a transportation expert who has served in Orban’s government.
The victory foils Orban’s effort to wrest control of liberal-leaning Budapest, a city of 1.8 million and the biggest prize in local elections held across the country last month.
The last-minute withdrawal of the candidate from Orban’s ruling party and the premier’s decision to endorse Vitezy — who had been backed by another party — created confusion that led to a spike in invalid votes, since ballot papers had already been printed by the time of Fidesz’s change of plan.
Karacsony’s second term as mayor will start in October.
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