Hungary’s government is set to amend the constitution in an effort to remove President Tamás Sulyok, part of a wider push by Prime Minister Péter Magyar to eliminate officials and institutions put in place under former populist leader Viktor Orbán.
Magyar’s Tisza party won a decisive victory in Hungary’s April election and holds a two-thirds majority in parliament, giving it the power to make sweeping constitutional changes. Magyar has repeatedly demanded that Sulyok resign, describing him as an “Orbán puppet,” and he said he would begin procedures to remove the president if Sulyok did not step aside.
While the Hungarian presidency is largely ceremonial, the president still has powers that can affect legislation and political initiatives, including signing laws into effect and referring bills to the constitutional court. Supporters of Magyar’s agenda fear Sulyok could obstruct reforms using those formal mechanisms.
Sulyok, appointed by Orbán’s party in February 2024 and set to serve a five-year term, has refused to resign, setting up a constitutional standoff with the new government majority. Orbán’s Fidesz party has warned that forcibly removing the president before the term ends would be incompatible with constitutional democracy.
Magyar did not provide detailed specifics on the exact constitutional mechanism planned to remove Sulyok, but said the process would take around a month.
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