Hungary’s President Seals Fate By Signing Amendment Ending Own Presidency

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s President Tamás Sulyok sealed his fate late Saturday by signing a constitutional amendment that will prematurely end his presidency after months of relentless pressure from Prime Minister Péter Magyar.

“With Sulyok’s signature, the last obstacle to our shared decisions taking effect has been removed,” Prime Minister Péter Magyar said after the president approved the measure leading to his own ouster.

Sulyok, who is less than three years into his five-year term, is leaving as Magyar repeatedly accused him during the election campaign and after taking office of placing political loyalty above his constitutional duty to safeguard Hungary’s democracy.

Following his election victory, Magyar declared Sulyok “unworthy of representing the unity of the Hungarian nation” and urged him to resign, arguing the president had failed to act against what he described as abuses under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s administration.

MAGYAR DEFENDS OVERHAUL

The government has argued Sulyok failed to speak out on issues ranging from the alleged systemic abuse of children in state care to what critics described as the targeting of journalists and civil society groups during the final years of Orbán’s increasingly centralized rule.

The 70-year-old Sulyok also signed an amendment introducing an age limit of 70 for Constitutional Court justices, a move expected to force several judges into retirement, including Constitutional Court President Péter Polt.

Additionally, it imposes a 12-year limit on how long lawmakers may serve in Hungary’s parliament.

The constitutional amendment, approved by parliament earlier this week, fulfills one of Magyar’s central election pledges to remove senior officials appointed during Orbán’s 16 years in power.

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

Magyar has argued those officials were entrenched in key institutions to preserve the former premier’s influence after his election defeat in April.

Parliament, where Magyar’s Tisza Party holds a commanding majority, is expected to elect a new head of state before Hungary’s August 20 national holiday commemorating the founding of the Hungarian state.

The government says the parliamentary term limit is designed to encourage political renewal and prevent entrenched political elites from remaining in office indefinitely.

Yet the reforms have sparked protests in Budapest, where demonstrators opposed Sulyok’s dismissal and what they viewed as Magyar’s increasingly authoritarian governing style.

PROTESTS AND CONCERNS

Critics, including human rights advocates and some constitutional experts, have expressed concern about the reforms.

They say the measures—including the removal of the president, the forced retirement of senior Constitutional Court judges, and term limits on lawmakers—risk weakening checks and balances while silencing experienced opposition voices, despite Magyar portraying himself as a defender of democratic values.

The government rejects those accusations, saying the constitutional overhaul is necessary to dismantle what it describes as the remaining power structures of the Orbán era, strengthen the rule of law, and restore public confidence in Hungary’s democratic institutions.

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