Hungarian Parliament Ousts President Sulyok Amid Political Shake‑up

On Monday, Hungary’s parliament voted to terminate the office of President Tamás Sulyok, a former loyalist of Viktor Orbán’s long‑ruling party. The vote, carried by the newly elected Tisza party with a two‑thirds majority, passed the 17th constitutional amendment that ends the president’s term, removes Constitutional Court judges over 70, and bars deputies who have held a seat three times from running again.

The move was described by the Tisza party as a “dramatic day” and followed their landslide electoral victory in April that saw Orbán’s Fidesz lose power after 16 years. Prime Minister Péter Magyar has warned Sulyok that he has five days to sign the amendment or appeal it to the court – a step that would automatically suspend him from office. The president could also choose to resign to avoid a constitutional crisis, a route the new government has urged.

Opposition Fidesz members walked out of the vote in protest, accusing the Tisza majority of consolidating “tyrannical” power. Fidesz’s Péter Rona, a former presidential candidate, said the amendment gives the government “arbitrary” power to dismiss public officials instantly, noting the irony that Orbán’s own constitution had once secured a “winner takes all” system.

Former Supreme Court head András Baka praised the president’s removal as a reclaiming of Hungary’s rule of law, arguing that the country had been “captured” by authoritarian normalisation under Orbán. He warned that breaking up such a sophisticated system would be very difficult once the regime had survived an electoral defeat.

The 17th amendment is a temporary package of laws that the new government intends to guide the nation until a new, fully democratic constitution can be adopted in the next two or three years. The only part Baka opposed was the clause barring ministers who served three terms from standing again, which he said limits voters’ choice.

While the new government continues to push new reforms, the political landscape is cracking. Viktor Orbán himself has withdrawn from public life since the election, and future Fidesz leadership is being reshuffled – Gergely Gulyás resigned as parliamentary chairman on Monday, adding further instability to the opposition.