Original article (in Serbian) was published on 11/12/2025; Author: Milica Ljubičić
In the spring of 2026, parliamentary elections will be held in Hungary, but the current Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as well as his political opponents, have long since begun their election campaigns. Ahead of the upcoming elections in that country, Srpski Telegraf reported in mid-December that “our blockaders are involved in the Hungarian elections” and that Orban is being brought down via Vojvodina. Does this tabloid offer any evidence that there is indeed an organized plan to influence the elections in Hungary?
In April 2026, parliamentary elections will be held in Hungary, and Serbian tabloids are already openly campaigning for the Fidesz party, led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, with whom Aleksandar Vučić’s government has maintained good relations for years.
Srpski Telegraf claims that ahead of these “important elections in Hungary,” “blockaders and executors of a color revolution and the bloody hand in our country” have been engaged.
“Plan uncovered. Our blockaders involved in Hungarian elections. Orban being brought down via Vojvodina,” reads the main headline on the front page of Srpski Telegraf, published on December 11. The same text had previously been published by Republika, the tabloid’s online portal.
The accusations that Orban is being “brought down via Vojvodina” are based on a recent statement by Ana Oreg, a member of the Serbian parliament from the Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) – a statement given almost a month ago.
“Hungary is facing regular parliamentary elections in the spring and, as things stand, Hungary, just like Serbia, is on the verge of regime change. Orban is counting on the votes of Hungarians from Vojvodina through the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), and I may pose a potential problem there, since as an opposition MP I am doing my job,” Oreg told Danas on November 13.
The author of the Srpski Telegraf article mentioned that Oreg said this “in a recent interview with Danas,” but omitted the context in which the statement was given and why Oreg gave the interview in the first place.
Namely, in early November 2025, Danas reported that Serbia’s Security Information Agency (BIA) had been monitoring and wiretapping Ana Oreg, MP and vice president of the Movement of Free Citizens. This drew particular public attention because Danas revealed that while she was under surveillance, the BIA recorded a conversation between PSG and STAV activists ahead of a major protest on March 15. Because of that recording – which was later broadcast on pro-government television stations – the activists were accused of violently attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, and some of them remain outside Serbia.
At the time, Danas unofficially learned that the BIA had asked the Higher Court to place Oreg “under measures” due to her contacts with certain Hungarian movements active in Hungary and the region.
A few days after this revelation, in her November 13 interview with Danas, Oreg commented on the information that she had been monitored and wiretapped.
In that context, the journalist asked her to comment on the claim that she had been placed under surveillance because of alleged contacts with certain Hungarian movements.
She said she had indeed been in contact with the Hungarian community and civil society organizations in Vojvodina, as Hungarian is her mother tongue. She criticized the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) for its closeness to the authorities in Serbia. She added that there is no concrete opposition party representing Hungarians, which is why she is recognized within that community as someone who can oppose the SVM.
It was in that context that she mentioned the elections in Hungary, suggesting that as an opposition MP she “bothers” Orban – and that part of her statement appeared in today’s edition of Srpski Telegraf.
In other words, Srpski Telegraf bases its claims on arbitrary interpretations and on the fact that Oreg criticizes the government in Budapest and the SVM, without any concrete evidence that there is an organized strategy to overthrow Orban “via Vojvodina.”
As an additional “argument,” Srpski Telegraf notes that a large number of Vojvodina residents of Hungarian nationality hold dual citizenship, which allows them to vote in the upcoming Hungarian elections.
“Because of that, approximately since the beginning of the color revolution in Serbia at the end of last year, a whole series of hybrid and other actions have been carried out in parallel, aimed at discouraging as many Vojvodina Hungarians as possible from voting for Fidesz (Orban’s party, editor’s note),” the tabloid states.
Since the beginning of the current protests, pro-government media have been promoting the narrative that a “color revolution” is taking place in Serbia. In its article on the Hungarian elections, the tabloid did not explain to readers what specific “hybrid actions” are allegedly being carried out to prevent Vojvodina Hungarians from voting for Orban. Its only “argument” is an unnamed source claiming that “blockaders and opposition figures” are working against Orban.
Moreover, even if campaigning for the Hungarian opposition were taking place among voters in Vojvodina, parties close to Orban are doing the same. That does not necessarily have to be illegal.
According to the 2022 census, more than 184,000 Hungarians live in Serbia, making them the largest national minority in the country. It is not known exactly how many of them have the right to vote in both countries, but according to Radio Free Europe, around 60,000 voters from Serbia were eligible to vote in Hungary’s 2022 elections.
According to available data, Hungary has a population of around nine and a half million people.
The upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary have sparked media discussions about whether Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party will remain in power after nearly 15 years, particularly given his conservative positions and sharp criticism of the EU over its stance toward Russia. Orban’s main opponent is Péter Magyar, leader of Hungary’s largest opposition party, Tisza.
Both have already launched their election campaigns, and as recently reported by the Associated Press, Orban claimed that the opposition party Tisza is “an EU project to overthrow his government and install a puppet regime that would redirect Hungarian money to Ukraine.”
Translated in English using AI tools, then thoughtfully refined by a human editor.
