**Hungarians are voting in the first round of parliamentary elections, with opinion polls predicting a sweeping victory by the right.**The centre-right Fidesz party - narrowly beaten by the Socialists in the last election in 2006 - could take more than 60%, the latest poll said.
The far-right Jobbik party also looks set to capture seats in parliament for the first time.
Many Hungarian voters are thought to be driven by a sharp economic downturn.
The country has been badly hit by the global financial crisis, and has had to be bailed out with 20bn euros (£18bn) from the IMF, the World Bank and the EU.
The Socialist government of Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai has imposed a tough austerity programme to reclaim some of the money, but measures like tax rises and salary and pension cuts have made it very unpopular.
Tactical voting
Some previously Socialist voters have transferred their allegiance to Jobbik, saying they will better defend Hungarian interests, says the BBC’s Nick Thorpe in Budapest.
Jobbik, known for its anti-Semitic and anti-Roma (Gypsy) rhetoric, has risen from nowhere in the last few years, gaining almost 15% of Hungarian votes in European elections last year.
Polls suggest Jobbik could even push the Socialists into third place.
Our correspondent says almost everyone seems convinced that the result will be a victory for the centre-right, so there is a lot of tactical voting going on - to try to limit or increase the size of the opposition success.
Fidesz leader Viktor Orban, who was prime minister in 1998-2002, has promised to cut taxes to stimulate the economy.
Casting his ballot early at a school in Budapest on Sunday morning, he said: “I don’t think I can do much more for the victory today,” he said.
“The stake of the elections is to get the country out of despair.”
The second round of the elections will be on April 25.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.