Hungary’s president agrees to stand down after law change ends his term

Tamás Sulyok, an ally of former prime minister Viktor Orbán, said he had no choice but to rubber-stamp the legislation as it respected the letter of the law. Photograph: Dénes Erdős/AP View image in fullscreen Tamás Sulyok, an ally of former prime minister Viktor Orbán, said he had no choice but to rubber-stamp the legislation as it respected the letter of the law. Photograph: Dénes Erdős/AP Hungary’s president agrees to stand down after law change ends his term Tamás Sulyok signed the constitutional amendment that cited ‘serious loss of confidence’ in him as leader Hungary’s president Tamás Sulyok has agreed to step down after signing a constitutional amendment passed by prime minister Péter Magyar’s ruling Tisza party. The amendment will end Sulyok’s term immediately, citing society’s “serious loss of confidence” 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 rubber-stamp the legislation as it respected the letter of the law. However, the former constitutional court judge warned that the reform has harmed the rule of law in Hungary. He said on Saturday: “The seventeenth amendment to the constitution has marked a watershed in Hungary’s constitutional democracy. “By removing public office holders in a manner that openly violates the rule of law… it sets a negative precedent that inflicts a deep wound on the constitutional values of democracy, the separation of powers, and the rule of law.” View image in fullscreen The legislation was part of Péter Magyar’s (pictured) drive to dismantle former prime minister Viktor Orbán’s bastions of power. Photograph: Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto/Shutterstock The legislation was part of Magyar’s drive to dismantle Orbán’s bastions of power after ousting the right-wing leader in an election landslide in April. Orbán, who critics say weakened democratic institutions during his 16 years in power, criticised the reforms on Facebook. He said: “Tyranny is no longer a threat but reality. If this could be done to the president, tomorrow, no one will be safe.” Fidesz has faced a series of high-profile resignations and a decline in public support since its election defeat in April. Parliament, where Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party has a two-thirds majority which allows it to change any laws, will elect a new president who will serve until a new constitution takes effect or for a maximum of five years. skip past newsletter promotion after newsletter promotion After Sulyok signed the amendment, Magyar said parliament speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer would assume the role of interim president from Monday. “With these decisions, we are restoring something that the Orbán regime spent many years trying to take away from the Hungarian people,” Magyar said in a Facebook post. “The certainty that power can be constrained, that public assets can be recovered and that the state can once again serve its citizens, free Hungarian citizens.