Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced plans to amend the constitution to remove President Tamas Sulyok and several officials appointed by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The move followed a meeting between the two leaders on the morning of May 12, during which President Sulyok rejected a demand to resign.
Speaking at a press conference afterward, Magyar criticized Sulyok as Orban’s “puppet” and said he would submit legislative proposals to his Tisza party that same day to begin the necessary process. He stressed the legislative process would take about a month and aimed to “remove all puppets” who had been involved in “dismantling the rule of law and democracy.”
Magyar’s Tisza party won a landslide victory in April’s election, securing a two-thirds majority in parliament, enabling major changes to the political system Orban built during his 16 years in power.
Hungary’s president, though largely ceremonial, is responsible for signing bills into law and can send legislation passed by parliament to the Constitutional Court for review. This has raised concerns among supporters of the new government that the president could use this power to obstruct government plans.
Earlier, Magyar issued an ultimatum to Sulyok demanding he resign by May 11 or face removal through constitutional means. However, Sulyok repeatedly rejected the resignation demand.
On May 9, Sulyok’s office released a statement saying that Magyar’s calls for resignation had “negatively affected the constitutional functioning and authority of the institution of the President of the Republic.” The statement also said Sulyok had requested a legal assessment from the Venice Commission, a panel of legal experts under the Council of Europe, regarding the conflict.
Magyar accused Sulyok of failing to perform his duties properly on multiple issues, including not speaking out when former Prime Minister Orban made dehumanizing remarks about political opponents and criticism, or when the previous government passed a law banning LGBTQ pride events.
“It is time for this institution — the president’s office — to regain the credibility eroded by its silence and inaction,” Magyar said at the press conference. “Hungary does not belong to Tamas Sulyok or Viktor Orban. It does not belong to a single party or a single political system.”
