Budapest (AFP) - Hungarian lawmakers will elect a new public prosecutor on Tuesday, as part of Prime Minister Peter Madiar's efforts to hold his nationalist predecessor Viktor Orban and his allies accountable against the backdrop of corruption accusations.

Published on: 03/11/2026 - 08:49

The voting session in Parliament comes amid increasing accusations of corruption at the highest levels in the central European country.

So far, three former ministers have been arrested, including a former governor of the Central Bank, whom Orban previously described as his “right-hand man.”

President Andráš Bočo nominated the recently retired Attorney General and former head of the Regional Public Prosecution Office, Peter Fisch, to take over the position.

Madiar's TISA party, which controls more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament, announced that it would approve the candidate.

The voting session is scheduled to take place at approximately 11:00 local time (10:00 GMT).

Hungarians' confidence in the public prosecutor's office declined during the era of Orban, who remained in power for 16 years, as his opponents accused the highly centralized institution of protecting the prime minister's inner circle from legal accountability.

Fish, 65, said he aims to restore this trust.

"Focus must be on professionalism, punctuality, and staying away from politics," the conservative Flash Online website reported last week.

Several investigations have been underway since Orban lost power in the April legislative elections.

The former governor of the Central Bank, Djorg Matulce, who also previously served as Minister of Economy, was arrested last month on the grounds of “an economic fraud that caused a huge financial loss,” while an international arrest warrant was issued against his son Adam, who is suspected of being his accomplice.

Two other ministers have been in prison since September on suspicion of corruption, as they are believed to have caused losses in public funds estimated at millions of euros.

Orban denounced the two latest investigations as "politically motivated" and aimed at imprisoning him and destroying his party.

The country's new anti-corruption official, Anna Unger, pointed out that issuing judicial convictions could take many years.

A government website listed more than 60 cases referred for investigation related to billions of euros of taxpayer money, while new cases are constantly being added.

© 2026 AFP

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