Big Hungarian election campaign demos ahead of April 12 vote

Mass rallies by incumbent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his challenger Péter Magyar are kicking off the final stretch of the country's election campaign in Budapest on Sunday.

Orbán's supporters are holding a "Peace March" from Margaret Bridge to Kossuth Square in front of parliament, where the right-wing populist leader is scheduled to address the crowd at 1 pm (1200 GMT).

Magyar, meanwhile, is marching with his supporters from the city centre to Heroes' Square, where he plans to speak at around 4 pm.

Hungary is set to elect a new parliament on April 12. Public opinion polls suggest the centrist Magyar has a strong chance of winning the election and unseating Orbán after 16 years in power.

Sunday is a national holiday in Hungary, commemorating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848-49, which was suppressed by the Habsburg Empire.

Both politicians are using their rallies on this symbolic day to demonstrate their strength, each expecting turnouts of more than 100,000 people.