The 2024 Budapest mayoral election was held on 9 June 2024Press Release of the National Election Commission to elect the mayor of Budapest (főpolgármester). The elected mayor only took office in October. On the same day, local elections were held throughout Hungary, including the districts of Budapest which will determine the composition of the General Assembly. The election was run using a first-past-the-post voting system. The winner of the election would serve for a term of five years.

As the two top-placed candidates, Gergely Karácsony and Dávid Vitézy were only separated by 324 votes, a partial recount took place due to the abnormally large numbers of invalid ballots. On 12 June, Vitézy filed for appeal, and the National Electoral Office decided on recounting all of the invalid votes across the city on 14 June. After the recount, Karácsony retained the mayorship by an advantage of only 41 votes, or 0.005% against Vitézy; however, Karácsony filed for appeal and sought a repeat of the election in the entire city. On 26 June, the Curia rejected Karácsony's appeal for a repeat election.<https://telex.hu/english/2024/06/26/there-will-be-no-repeat-mayoral-elections-in-budapest-the-curia-has-ruled The Constitutional Court annulled the Curia's decision, after which it ordered a city wide recount of all valid votes to be conducted between 9–11 July. The recount determined that Karácsony won by 293 votes.

Candidates

Announced candidates

Gergely Karácsony, incumbent Mayor (2019–), supported by DK, MSZP, Dialogue and MomentumA Momentum is beáll Karácsony Gergely mögé az önkormányzati választáson, telex.hu (in Hungarian) Dávid Vitézy, former director of the Centre for Budapest Transport (2010–2014), former state secretary for transportation (2022), supported by LMP András Grundtner, supported by Our Homeland MovementGrundtner András lesz a Mi Hazánk Mozgalom főpolgármester-jelöltje a 2024-es választásokon, telex.hu (in Hungarian)

Withdrawn candidates

Koloman Brenner, member of parliament (2018–), supported by Jobbik; withdrew on 19 April 2024, in favor of Dávid Vitézy.„Tegyük rendbe Budapestet” – saját főpolgármester-jelöltet indít a Jobbik Karácsony Gergely ellen, telex.hu (in Hungarian) Alexandra Szentkirályi, government spokesperson (2020–2024), former deputy mayor of Budapest (2014–2019), supported by Fidesz-KDNP; withdrew on 7 June 2024, in favor of Dávid Vitézy.

Campaign Gergely Karácsony (DK–MSZP–Párbeszéd) Incumbent mayor Gergely Karácsony announced his intention to run for a second term on 20 March 2023. He became the joint candidate of the newly formed DK–MSZP–Dialogue Alliance for the position of mayor on 28 March 2024, also leading its General Assembly party list. The Momentum Movement endorsed Karácsony's mayoral candidacy as well, but decided to run in the election with a separate party list.

During his campaign, Karácsony referred to Budapest as a “republic” and an “island of freedom.” He argued that the people of Budapest would have an easy choice in the election because, for the citizens of the capital, the government only offers a “declaration of war.” According to him, the values that the government’s policies oppose are upheld in Budapest. Karácsony emphasized that, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global energy crisis, the Fidesz government has taken significant powers and financial resources from Budapest over the past five years purely for political purposes. This, he claimed, destabilized the city’s budget, delaying or even preventing many projects. During his campaign, Karácsony argued that the future of the city hinges on its ability to provide affordable housing in the short and long term. To achieve this, he planned to rely on directly accessible EU funds, bypassing the government’s distributive role. He cited his ability to work with the government, pointing to the establishment of a common tariff system with the participation of Hungarian State Railways (MÁV), Volánbusz and Budapesti Közlekedési Zrt.. Under Karácsony, the BuBi bicycle sharing network was also re-organized and expanded. He established a housing agency to provide municipal housing for the homeless. The reconstruction of Metro Line M3 was also completed under his term. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge and Blaha Lujza tér were also renovated.

Karácsony alleged during the campaign that independent candidate Dávid Vitézy was a covert candidate of Fidesz alongside the “official” candidate, Szentkirályi, predicting that one of them would eventually withdraw. Both Vitézy and Szentkirályi denied the allegations. Despite the continuous denials, Szentkirályi did withdraw on 7 June. Karácsony and the opposition parties that supported him declared this the “end of Orbán’s ploy,” arguing that Vitézy was Fidesz’s real candidate, aiming to confuse and split anti-government voters. Karácsony claimed this was Fidesz’s plan all along, as opposition parties are clearly in the majority in the capital. He argued that Vitézy, if elected with Fidesz’s support, would not effectively oppose the ruling party. According to him, the city is strong until its backbone is broken. "The mayorship of Dávid Vitézy would send a message that Budapest was silenced and oppressed", he argued. He stated that the people of Budapest must choose between “the power of the people or the people of power.” Karácsony claimed that Vitézy’s supporters had become victims of an “evil power struggle” and insisted that “there is only one Fidesz, whose goal is to preserve its power and economic interests.” He added that Vitézy’s ambitious visions could only be realized with government financial support and suggested that Vitézy was unaware of the true state of the city’s budget.

Dávid Vitézy (VDB–LMP) Transport and urban mobility expert Dávid Vitézy announced his candidacy on 19 March 2024, representing his own civic organization Association with Dávid Vitézy for Budapest (VDB) and LMP – Hungary's Green Party. During his campaign, Vitézy presented himself as a technocratic outsider, rejecting both Fidesz government policies and the left-wing opposition that has administered Budapest. According to him, Budapest has become a political battleground between the government and Karácsony since 2019, resulting in stalled major investments and halted developments. He claimed that Karácsony used his position as a “national opposition” and “martyr,” and argued that, even amid governmental opposition, more progress could have been made over the past five years if continuous negotiations had taken place.

Vitézy outlined five major issues that needed to be addressed: housing affordability, persistent traffic congestion from outer districts and the suburbs, deteriorating healthcare, lack of green spaces, and development efforts that focus only on tourist-heavy inner districts. He proposed deploying law enforcement on BKK lines to address issues with violent and homeless passengers, constructing 10,000 new service apartments, and removing party politicians from the boards of Budapest companies, while implementing a one-third female quota on these boards. He presented his 101-point programme with the title "This city has so much more potential". Among others, Vitézy promised to build five new tram lines, renovate suburban junctions to improve accessibility, upgrade BHÉV lines with a full replacement of vehicles, and establish green parks along the Danube riverbanks. On the same day, Jobbik candidate Koloman Brenner withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Vitézy. Vitézy took part in a harsh YouTube debate with Karácsony on 31 May 2024 (Partizán), during which he confronted the mayor over unfulfilled campaign promises. Vitézy argued that Karácsony prioritized party politics over Budapest’s development, treating the city as a “shadow government” and a tool for his political battles against Fidesz.

Throughout the campaign, Vitézy’s previous affiliation with the ruling Fidesz party led to questions about his independence. Furthermore, LMP leader Péter Ungár was regarded as part of the “systemic opposition” within Viktor Orbán's regime. The European Green Party formally suspended LMP's membership due to its support of Vitézy. Meanwhile, government-aligned media launched a defamatory campaign against Gergely Karácsony, yet remained silent on Vitézy’s candidacy, failing to mention it in their reports. Karácsony and the left-wing opposition parties accused Vitézy of being a “hidden” candidate for Fidesz, citing his former roles and family connections within Orbán’s governments. Karácsony speculated that Fidesz’s “official” candidate, Alexandra Szentkirályi, would eventually withdraw in Vitézy’s favor. Both Vitézy and Szentkirályi denied these allegations. However, Szentkirályi indeed withdrew her candidacy and endorsed Vitézy on 7 June 2024, two days before the election. Pro-government media unanimously encouraged the election of Vitézy, but the support of the Fidesz–KDNP list in the simultaneous General Assembly election. Karácsony and his supporting opposition parties claimed this was the “end of Orbán’s ploy,” arguing that Vitézy was the real Fidesz candidate, his supposed independence designed to confuse and divide anti-government voters. Vitézy denied these accusations, stating that he would not form a coalition with either Fidesz or DK if elected. He claimed that Szentkirályi’s withdrawal was a unilateral decision by Fidesz, unaccompanied by any secret agreement. He emphasized that those supporting him as mayor should also support the VDB–LMP list in the General Assembly vote.

Alexandra Szentkirályi (Fidesz–KDNP)

On 14 March 2024, it was announced that Alexandra Szentkirályi, the party spokesperson and former deputy mayor, would be Fidesz’s candidate for Mayor of Budapest in the 2024 election. During her campaign, Szentkirályi ran an exclusively defamatory campaign against Karácsony, frequently referring to him as the “puppet” of former prime minister and opposition leader Ferenc Gyurcsány. Using the slogan “Budapest needs change,” she sought to demonstrate Karácsony’s incompetence through numerous TikTok videos, though she did not publish her own program or vision. Fidesz leaders, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, remained notably passive during her campaign, leading analysts to speculate that Fidesz had anticipated a potential defeat. Szentkirályi refused to participate in debates with Karácsony and Vitézy and, aside from pro-government media, did not give any interviews.

Karácsony speculated that Fidesz’s “official” candidate, Szentkirályi, would eventually withdraw in favor of Vitézy. Both Vitézy and Szentkirályi denied these allegations throughout the campaign. However, Szentkirályi did withdraw her candidacy on 7 June, two days before the election, and endorsed Vitézy. Pro-government media unanimously supported Vitézy’s mayoral bid while endorsing the Fidesz–KDNP list in the simultaneous General Assembly election.

András Grundtner (MH)

The far-right Our Homeland Movement nominated jurist András Grundtner as their mayoral candidate on 2 September 2023. During his campaign, he spoke out against car traffic restrictions (such as those on the Chain Bridge) and promised to ban Budapest Pride if elected.