BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s Parliament cast votes Monday to approve a constitutional amendment that would force President Tamás Sulyok out of office, as the country’s new leadership works to undo the political framework built by autocratic former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Current Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his pro-European, center-right Tisza party swept to power in a landslide victory last April. With a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the party now has the authority to make constitutional changes and reverse many of the policies Orbán put in place over his 16 years in power.
The amendment, described as a measure to “restore rule-of-law democracy,” cleared Parliament by a vote of 139 in favor and six opposed, out of 199 total seats. Tisza lawmakers rose to their feet in applause following the vote, while members of Orbán’s far-right Fidesz party had boycotted the session altogether.
Sulyok has five days to sign the amendment before it becomes law. He has not yet indicated whether he intends to do so, but Tisza has made clear it will pursue impeachment proceedings if he refuses. Sulyok has previously rejected Magyar’s calls for him to step down voluntarily.
Magyar has maintained that Sulyok failed in his duties as president by not pushing back against what he describes as antidemocratic actions taken by the Orbán government. Magyar made removing Sulyok a central campaign promise and has pointed to his party’s decisive election win as a voter mandate to follow through.
Speaking at a news conference after the vote, Magyar said the passage of the amendment meant his government had “started the transformation of the Orbán legal system.”
“With this vote today, we have closed an era,” he said. “We asked for and received a completely clear mandate from the Hungarian people to do this.”
Beyond removing Sulyok, the amendment also includes judicial reforms, establishes an office to investigate potential financial misconduct during the Orbán era, and sets a 12-year term limit on members of Parliament.
Fidesz has denounced the amendment as an “unprecedented” attack on Hungary’s democratic order. The party organized a protest last week drawing roughly 3,000 people in opposition to the changes, though Orbán himself did not appear.
On Monday, Orbán posted a photo of Magyar on Facebook with the caption “Democratic Hungary: 1990-2026” — referencing the period since Hungary moved away from state socialism. Orbán was traveling to the United States on Monday to attend the final three matches of the World Cup.
Hungary’s presidency is largely ceremonial, but the president does hold the power to sign legislation into law and can refer bills passed by Parliament to the Constitutional Court for review. Supporters of the new government have expressed concern that Sulyok, appointed during the Orbán years, could use that authority to block their agenda.
Since taking office in May, Magyar’s government has moved swiftly to dismantle what he calls Orbán’s “mafia” — removing political appointees and heads of institutions seen as having enabled Orbán’s rule. The government suspended the news operations of Hungary’s public television and radio, which Magyar has described as a “propaganda factory” for Fidesz, and shut down Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Office, an agency Orbán’s critics viewed as a tool for silencing dissent and independent media.
Before Monday’s vote, Fidesz caucus leader Gergely Gulyás said the amendment “breaks up the legal system, undermines the rule of law and restricts democracy.” Gulyás also announced he would step down as caucus leader, since the amendment’s new 12-year term limit would bar him from returning to Parliament in the next national election.
Fidesz supporters organized a candlelight vigil outside Hungary’s parliament building Monday evening, protesting what they called the “tyranny” of Magyar’s government.
