Hungarians who voted in a referendum on Sunday have overwhelmingly rejected mandatory EU migrant quotas, the national election office has said, the BBC News reported.

But exit polls suggest that turnout failed to reach the 50% needed for the result to be valid.

With nearly all the votes counted, 98% rejected the quotas, officials said.

Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Hungarians to reject the EU scheme, describing it as a threat to Europe's security and way of life.

He described the result as "overwhelming" and said the EU "cannot force" Hungary to accept migrants. He urged EU decision makers to take note of the referendum.

The EU plan to relocate 160,000 migrants across the bloc would mean Hungary receiving 1,294 asylum seekers.

Source: MENA