Hungarian lawmakers are preparing to oust President Tamás Sulyok, who is associated with Viktor Orban, as Prime Minister Peter Madyar aims to completely sever ties with his nationalist predecessor. A constitutional amendment that directly facilitates the termination of the current president’s powers is expected to pass, given the two-thirds majority held by Madyar’s Tisza party in parliament.
This vote follows April’s elections, which dealt a crushing blow to Orban, ending his 16-year rule characterized by corruption. The prime minister will address lawmakers at 13:00 in Budapest to justify the need for President Sulyok’s removal. The vote is scheduled for 18:15 under an expedited procedure, allowing for just a few hours of debate.
Plans to Restore the Rule of Law
Madyar seeks to remove Sulyok less than three years into his five-year term, fulfilling a key campaign promise to eliminate those who supported the increasingly authoritarian former leader. Madyar has pledged to restore the rule of law in Hungary, a member of the European Union, after his predecessor suppressed civil society and independent media in an effort to establish a self-proclaimed illiberal state.
Sulyok will have five days to sign the amendment, and if he refuses, it will provide parliament with grounds for his impeachment, Madyar stated in a social media post on Saturday. He aims for a new president, elected by the parliamentary majority, to take office by the national holiday on August 20. The head of state could attempt to delay his removal by sending the legislation to the Constitutional Court.
The president of the Constitutional Court, also linked to Orban, will be removed by this amendment, which introduces an age limit of 70 years for judges. Last month, the court declined to consider Sulyok’s attempt to preemptively declare his removal unconstitutional. Madyar asserted that Sulyok, who is 70 years old, prioritized political loyalty over the responsibility of his position to protect democracy for Hungarians. The president has repeatedly failed to address issues ranging from systemic abuse of children in state institutions to the persecution of journalists during the final stages of Orban’s 16-year rule. For his part, Sulyok rejected Madyar’s call to resign voluntarily, claiming the amendment is a “blatant violation” of the constitution and will set a precedent for the removal of independent officials in the future.
Avoiding the Polish Scenario
Madyar is determined to avoid the situation in Poland, where Prime Minister Donald Tusk defeated the former nationalist government linked to Orban in 2023, but faced obstacles in implementing key changes due to the country’s president. Unlike Poland, where the president is elected by direct vote and has the power to veto government decisions, in Hungary, the head of state is primarily a ceremonial figure.
The removal of Sulyok raises broader questions about whether the rule of law can be restored solely through measures traditionally aligned with democratic norms. The European Union has funded Orban’s regime for years while attempting to halt democratic backsliding. Madyar did not conceal during the campaign his intention to remove not only Orban but also the entire system he established, and Hungarians overwhelmingly supported his program.
“No one has a recipe for how to change” such authoritarian decline in the EU, “because there was no precedent for anyone doing it in the first place,” Deputy Prime Minister Balint Ruff said in the Ötpontban podcast released on Friday. “Hungary is a pioneer in this regard.”
Source: Bloomberg
