Close to a thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Budapest on Friday to protest against a perceived crackdown on Hungary's main opposition party, Jobbik.
Last week, the State Audit Office slapped Jobbik with a 2.5 million dollar fine after ruling the right-wing party had breached political funding laws by buying billboards for far below market prices.
Speaking at the demonstration, which attracted activists of both left and right wing persuasions, party chairman Gabor Vona said he believed that the protestors had made "an historic step towards a fair, just and free Hungary."
Bal'azs Guly'as, a left-wing activist told Euronews: "Everybody has rights regardless of how they behaved in the past. I was and still am rather critical of Jobbik, but I believe that the rule of law can not be ignored as this government regularly does."
While a Jobbik supporter said: "Tonight almost every opposition party stood up for Jobbik because this case is not just about one party in particular, it is about the Hungarian democracy. And we would all like to live in a more free and democratic country"
With an election just months away, a hefty fine could impede Jobbik's ability to campaign.
This was the first time that Jobbik and some left-wing opposition parties demonstrated together. The big question is that how the cooperation of the currently divided opposition will evolving before next year's election.
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