BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians filled the streets of Budapest on Thursday in competing demonstrations as supporters of the country’s two main political movements staged mutual shows of strength before next spring’s national election.

The rival rallies were a standoff between nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his main political challenger, Péter Magyar , who looks set to present the long-serving Hungarian leader with the most competitive ballot in his 15 years in power.

The election is due in April, but an exact date for the vote hasn't been set.

Orbán's supporters gathered on a bridge spanning the Danube River on Thursday morning and began marching toward Hungary's towering neo-Gothic parliament. The rally, dubbed a “peace march” by organizers

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