Hungary prime minister seeks re-election

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party is favored to win Hungary's parliamentary elections by a wide margin, with a left-wing coalition and the far-right Jobbik party vying for second place.

The National Election Office says that 9.5 percent of voters had cast ballots by 0700 GMT Sunday, a slightly lower proportion than the same time in most previous elections. Voting stations close at 1700 GMT.

Orban says he hopes for a heavy turnout, "so that no matter what kind of government there will be, it will be able to start its job with large popular support."

Former Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, now part of a five-party left-wing coalition, says the elections would determine whether Hungary "will again be a peaceful European country," or drift further toward the East.