Hungary's President Tamás Sulyok steps down after signing law that ends his term

Hungary's President Tamás Sulyok has agreed to step down after signing a constitutional amendment that ends his term in office. The legislation in question was passed by the ruling Tisza party of the prime minister, Péter Magyar. The law ended Sulyok’s term immediately, citing society’s “serious loss of confidence” in the leader, who was elected to the office in 2024 by the government of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Sulyok said he had no choice but to rubber-stamp the legislation as he respected the letter of the law. However, a former constitutional court judge released a statement, warning that the reform had 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," the former Hungarian judge averred.

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It is pertinent to note that 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.

Orban slams the new reform

Meanwhile, the former Hungarian premier took to Facebook to express his discontent over the reform. “Tyranny is no longer a threat but reality. If this could be done to the president, tomorrow, no one will be safe," he said.

Following the end of his 16-year-long reign over Hungary, Orban's own party, Fidesz, has faced a series of high-profile resignations and a decline in public support. Meanwhile, since Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party has a two-thirds majority in the country's parliament, it allows the new government to change laws without much of a challenge.

As Sulyok steps down, the parliament will now elect a new president, who will serve until a new constitution takes effect or for a maximum of five years. After Sulyok signed the amendment, Magyar said the 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,” the Hungarian premier 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, frees Hungarian citizens," he added.

It is also important to note that the latest amendment imposes a 12-year term limit on lawmakers and sets a retirement age of 70 for constitutional court judges. Interestingly, this would force the court's current president and Orbán’s ally Péter Polt to retire, according to Reuters.

Even before the legislation was passed, Magyar had repeatedly called on Sulyok to step down, accusing him of failing to represent national unity on major issues and of serving the interests of Orbán and his government.

With inputs from agencies.