(3 Oct 2010) SHOTLIST
++INTERIOR SHOTS++
1. Wide of ballot boxes being turned over
2. Wide of election officials sorting the ballots
3. Close up of strap on top of the box being undone
4. Mid of box being turned over
5. Close up of election material bundled and stamped
6. Wide of Fidesz mayor candidate Istvan Tarlos and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arriving to the election party
7. Close of Fidesz supporters
8. Wide of supporters applauding
9. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Viktor Orban, Hungarian Prime Minister:
"Today Hungary won it's biggest success. Today the Hungarian nation together said what it wants."
++NIGHT SHOTS++
10. Wide of supporters on the street cheering
11. Close of supporter, pan down poster
STORYLINE
Hungary's governing centre-right Fidesz party scored a sweeping victory in nationwide municipal elections on Sunday, officials results showed, an outcome the country's leader said will help the government speed up needed economic reforms.
After gaining a two-thirds majority in April's parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party strengthened its mandate across the country by winning the mayorships in 22 of Hungary's 23 main cities, the National Election Office said.
"Today Hungary won it's biggest success," Orban told a news conference on Sunday.
"Today the Hungarian nation together said what it wants," he added.
With over 90 percent of the votes counted, Fidesz was leading or had already won in 19 of the 23 districts in Budapest, the capital, where a Fidesz candidate was elected mayor for the first time.
Istvan Tarlos will replace Gabor Demszky, who had led the city for five straight terms since the initial post-communist elections in 1990.
Voter turnout was relatively low at 46.4 percent.
In the two previous municipals elections, turnout had been over 50 percent.
Ahead of the elections, Orban had said widespread support would make it easier for the government to push through reforms, stick to
state budget deficit targets agreed with international lenders and reduce Hungary's indebtedness.
Hungary is facing daunting economic challenges but government officials spent the summer months after April's victory making often contradictory statements about the state of the country's finances.
This increased uncertainty in the financial markets about Hungary's credibility and hurt the stability of the forint, the national currency.
The forint's exchange rate is a critical issue for some 1.8 (m) million Hungarians who are paying back loans and mortgages denominated in Swiss francs.
As the forint weakens, borrowers' monthly payments rise.
In late 2008, under the previous, Socialist-led government, Hungary was forced to rely on a bailout of 20 (b) billion euro (27 (b) billion US dollars) from the International Monetary Fund and other institutions to avoid bankruptcy.
At the time, Hungary agreed with the IMF to strict spending limits, figures which the Orban government confirmed unequivocally only last month.
The government was likely waiting for Sunday's municipal elections to pass, likely the last until April 2014, before revealing any major plans.
Orban has said Hungary will not seek any more financing from the IMF when the current agreement expires this month and has pledged to respect the deficit targets this year and next without further squeezing the population, usually through either higher taxes or lower state spending.
Orban, however, has shown more determination about another project.
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