Hungarians vote Sunday on a referendum whether to accept or reject the European Union’s migrant quotas.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been in power since 2010, hopes this referendum will give his government the support it needs to oppose any future plans proposed by the EU.

“We do not agree with the quota, of course, because it would let people coming into the country without any control and although we would [like] to try to help the refugees but still not like this. I mean, it has to be some kind of control to let people in, so the referendum is really important otherwise it is going to change the culture of the nation,” Zsuzsanna Toth, a local resident, told the Associated Press.

Orban has armed Hungary’s southwest borders with police patrols and thousands of army personnel. He has also urged Hungarians to show the European Union that its migrant policy has flaws and poses a threat to other nations.

Human Rights groups have criticized the prime minister’s hardline approach on welcoming refugees.

On Friday, 1,500 people protested in Budapest against the referendum.

“We came here so that we would be less ashamed of ourselves on Sunday night. … I expect the worse: that it will be valid, with more than 50 percent of people voting, and this makes me sick,” Zsuzsa Berkesi, a local teacher, told AP.

Opinion polls indicate anti-migrant support in the referendum, but possibly without the necessary 50% of the electorate turning out to vote to make it valid.

“We must preserve our Hungarian national character here in the middle of Europe and all the other European states should also preserve their national characters,” Judit Hegyi, local resident, told Reuters.

Voting begins early in the morning and polls close late afternoon.
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