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Mr Orban addressed tens of thousands of supporters who braved the rain today to back the 54-year-old, who is seeking a third consecutive term when elections take place on April 8. Many migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa who travelled across southeast Europe in 2015 passed through Hungary, which has responded with a border fence and strong opposition to EU proposals to settle migrants in member states under a quota system.

Viktor Orban told the march: "Those who do not stop immigration at their borders will be lost"

Mr Orban told the rally: “External forces and international powers want to force all this (immigration) on us ... with the help of their henchmen here in Hungary, and they see the coming election as a good opportunity for this."

“Those who do not stop immigration at their borders will be lost.

“They (external powers) want to take our country ... they want to force us to give it up voluntarily over a few decades to strangers arriving from other continents who do not ... respect our culture, our laws and our way of life.”