Light voter turnout was reported Sunday in municipal runoff elections, the sixth time Hungarians went to the polls in less than a year. In Budapest, the opposition Alliance of Free Democrats won a plurality of votes in the first round of municipal elections Sept. 30 and was leading in Sunday's second round. The liberal Free Democrats led with 36 percent of the vote in Budapest, with about 17 percent of the ballots counted, state-run television reported. The Hungarian Democratic Forum, the strongest force in Parliament, had about 25 percent. The results in Budapest and other urban centers are seen as a test for the center-right coalition government of Jozsef Antall, six months after national elections. Runoffs were held in communities with below 40 percent turnout in the first round of municipal elections. The first-round turnout was 34 percent in Budapest. In the runoffs, a simple majority will decide the vote. Complete results in Budapests and results elsewhere were not expected until Monday. According to state radio, turnout Sunday ranged from 20 percent in some rural areas to about 32 percent of Budapest's 1.5 million eligible voters.
