India, April 13 -- Hungarians were casting ballots Sunday in what is widely seen as Europe's most consequential election this year, a vote that could unseat populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of US President Donald Trump, after 16 years in power.

It's a key moment for Orban, the European Union's longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has travelled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.

Polls opened at 6 am local time and were scheduled to close at 7 pm Orban and his top challenger, Peter Magyar, arrived at separate polling stations in Budapest at nearly the same time to cast their votes.

Speaking to ...