The Parliament of Hungary approved a constitutional amendment that terminates the powers of the current President of the Republic, Tamás Sulyok. The government proposed the amendment, which received support from a constitutional majority of two-thirds of the votes.
Deputies from the opposition party Fidesz, led by Viktor Orban, protested against what they termed “arbitrariness” by leaving the hall and abstaining from the vote. In addition to ending the powers of the head of state, whom Prime Minister Peter Magyar referred to as “Orban’s puppet”, the amendment imposes a term limit of 12 years for deputies and an age limit of 70 years for judges of the Constitutional Court, which will alter its composition.
A new Office for the Return and Protection of State Property is also being established to recover “billions stolen by oligarchs of Orban’s corrupt regime”.
The amendment must be signed by the president himself
For the amendment to take effect, it must be signed by President Sulyok, who has five days to do so. If he refuses, the government, as clarified by the prime minister, will promptly initiate the process to remove the president from office for improper performance of duties, as outlined in the current Constitution.
Previously, Magyar had repeatedly called for President Sulyok to resign, but to no avail. The prime minister also emphasized that this amendment is a temporary measure necessary to begin dismantling the regime established by Orban. A new Constitution is expected to be adopted after extensive public consultations, likely next year.
