By Gergely Szakacs and Sandor Peto
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's centre-right Fidesz party looks almost certain on Sunday to win the two-thirds majority it needs in the next parliament to enact reforms and put the economy on the path to growth.
With 75 percent the votes counted, Fidesz had won 262 seats, above the 258 needed for the two-thirds majority.
The mandate would enable Fidesz to implement reforms such as streamlining local government and making dual citizenship easier to get for ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring countries.
"The broader the authorisation (from voters) is, the easier and quicker the recovery from the crisis will be. We hope that the future government will get this broad unity and authorisation," Fidesz spokesman Peter Szijjarto told M1 television.
A projection released by pollster Szonda Ipsos just after the polls closed at 6 p.m. British time put Fidesz on 264 seats, the Socialists on 58 seats, and the far-right Jobbik on 48 seats.
Green liberal LMP is expected to gain 16 seats, based on the survey published by national news agency MTI after a second round of voting.
Fidesz won an outright majority and ousted the ruling Socialists in the first round on April 11 by winning 206 seats in the 386-seat parliament.
Fidesz has pledged to create jobs, lower taxes, and cut bureaucracy to revive the economy but with the budget under the scrutiny of the IMF and the EU -- which rescued Hungary from financial collapse in 2008 -- its room for fiscal stimulus will be limited.
UNEMPLOYMENT
Hungary's economy contracted by 6.3 percent last year and unemployment is running at a 16-year high of 11.4 percent.
Weary of a deep recession, Hungarians expect the new government to create jobs and put the economy back on a track to economic growth.
"The (2/3) majority would be best because decisions would be much faster and the government wouldn't have to waste time in acting," said Peter Varnai, who cast his vote at a polling station in Budapest.
"I just want a better future for my grandchildren," added Maria Holecska, a 61-year-old pensioner.
Investors holding billions of euros of Hungarian government bonds expect from Fidesz a clear road map on how Hungary plans to put its public debt -- the highest in central Europe at around 80 percent of GDP -- on a firm downward path at a time when worries over Greece are keeping markets on edge.
Analysts said if Fidesz pursues responsible fiscal policy and enacts reforms in the health care system, education and the labour market, that could boost Hungary's economic growth in the medium term and improve the economy's competitiveness.
"Amassing a qualified majority (2/3 of all seats) after the second round would give the new government an unprecedented strong mandate and let Fidesz introduce constitutional reforms and other major legal changes without seeking support of other parties," Goldman Sach said in a note on Sunday.
"This would also mean that in exchange for relaxing fiscal conditionality under a new IMF-led program, the new government would be able to introduce structural reforms of the public sector and other major legal changes that would lead to substantial fiscal savings in the medium and long term."
Since the first round, government bond yields have fallen by about 30 basis points and the forint has outperformed its regional peers, boosted by the prospect of a strong government.
(Editing by Alison Williams)
