Hungary’s president agrees to stand down after law change ends his term | Hungary
Hungarian president Tamás Sulyok agreed to resign after the prime minister signed a constitutional amendment passed by Péter Magyar of the ruling Tisza party.
The change would immediately end Sulyok’s term, citing society’s “serious loss of trust” in a leader elected in early 2024 by lawmakers from former prime minister Viktor Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party.
Sulyok said he had no choice but to approve the law because he respected the letter of the law.
But the former constitutional court judge warned that the reform undermined the rule of law in Hungary.
He said on Saturday: “The seventeenth amendment to the Constitution marked a turning point in Hungary’s constitutional democracy.
“By dismissing public officials in clear violation of the rule of law… he sets a negative precedent that inflicts deep wounds on constitutional values such as democracy, separation of powers and the rule of law.”
The law was part of Magyar’s effort to dismantle Orbán’s bastions of power after overwhelmingly ousting the right-wing leader in elections in April.
Orbán has criticized reforms at Facebook, which critics say have weakened democratic institutions during his 16 years in power.
He said: “Bullying is no longer a threat but a reality. If this could happen to the president tomorrow, no one would be safe.”
Fidesz has faced a series of high-profile resignations and a decline in popular support since its election defeat in April.
The parliament, where Magyar’s center-right Tisza party has a two-thirds majority, giving it the ability to change any law, will elect a new president who will serve until a new constitution comes into force, or for a maximum of five years.
After Sulyok signed the amendment, Magyar said parliament speaker Ágnes Forstoffer would assume the role of interim president from Monday.
“With these decisions, we are bringing back something that the Orbán regime has been trying to take away from the Hungarian people for years,” Magyar said in a Facebook post.
“The certainty that power can be curtailed, public assets recovered, and the state once again able to serve its citizens is liberating for Hungarian citizens.”
The amendment also imposes a 12-year term limit on lawmakers and sets the retirement age for constitutional court judges at 70, Reuters reported; This will force the court’s current president, Orbán’s ally Péter Polt, to retire.
Magyar has repeatedly called on Sulyok to resign, accusing him of failing to represent national unity on important issues and serving the interests of Orbán and his government.
