Budapest mayor launches bid to challenge Orban next year

FILE PHOTO: Gergely Karacsony, opposition parties' candidate, delivers a statement after being elected Mayor of Budapest, in Budapest, Hungary, October 13, 2019. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony on Saturday announced his bid to become the prime minister candidate for Hungary's six opposition parties which are trying to forge an alliance to take on Prime Minister Viktor Orban in national elections next year.

Earlier this week, the Hungarian opposition said it would hold the country's first ever primary elections this year to pick joint candidates to contest the 2022 ballot, a move that could threaten Orban's more than decade-long grip on power.