Hungary's Tisza party leads pre-election poll, far-right party on course for parliament

Tisza Party Surges Ahead of Fidesz in Hungary's Pre-Election Polls

Overview of Hungary's Political Landscape

BUDAPEST, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Hungary's centre-right Tisza party leads Prime Minister Viktor Orban's governing Fidesz party before an April 12 election, and the far-right Our Homeland party is on course to enter parliament, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday.

Poll Results and Voter Support

Although pro-government pollsters put Fidesz ahead, the 21 Institute poll published by news site 24.hu was the second this week to put Tisza ahead and show Our Homeland winning enough seats to enter parliament.

Challenges for the Fidesz Party

Nationalist Orban faces the biggest challenge to his rule since Fidesz swept to victory in 2010 although the outcome remains highly uncertain, with opinion polls showing that many voters are still undecided.

Leadership of the Tisza Party

The 21 Institute poll, conducted between January 28 and February 2, put Tisza on 35% support among all voters, up from 34% in December. Fidesz was on 28% support, up from 26%.

The poll showed 53% of decided voters supported Tisza and 37% backed Fidesz, a similar level to December.

The poll showed that Our Homeland (Mi Hazank) would be the only other party to pass the 5% threshold required for entry into parliament.

A Publicus Institute poll published on Monday by Nepszava newspaper showed 48% of decided voters supporting Tisza and 40% backing Fidesz, with Our Homeland on more than 5% support. It also showed 27% of voters were undecided, after 31% in December.

Tisza is led by former government insider Peter Magyar who has said his party would curb corruption, unlock billions of euros in frozen European Union funds to boost the economy, and firmly anchor Hungary in the EU and NATO.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than, Editing by Timothy Heritage)