Hungarian President Paves Way for Own Removal in Constitutional Shake-up

Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok has paved the way for his own potential removal from office by agreeing to a constitutional amendment. After days of hesitation, Sulyok announced he would countersign the changes, which were passed by parliament last Monday. Prime Minister Peter Magyar had given the president five days to approve the amendment, threatening impeachment proceedings if he refused.

Magyar, who unseated Viktor Orban in April, framed the constitutional changes as a way to restore power limits and reclaim public property. He stated on Facebook that these decisions "give back to the Hungarian people something that the Orban regime has been trying to take for many years: the certainty that power is limited, common property is regained, and the state can once again serve its citizens, the free Hungarian citizens."

Sulyok acknowledged that while the parliamentary decision to remove him is unconstitutional, he sees no legal means to challenge it. He expressed concern that the new amendment leaves future presidents "at the mercy of the executive and politics" with no "control function." The changes also impose term limits on constitutional judges, affecting four current judges including the chairman, Peter Polt, who is considered loyal to Orban, and limit the tenure of parliament members.