Hungary’s president signs amendment ending his term
Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok has signed a constitutional amendment that will bring his mandate to an end, following its approval by parliament amid a broader political overhaul led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
Sulyok announced on Saturday that he had signed the 17th amendment to Hungary’s Fundamental Law after considering the legal options available to him. His term is due to end at midnight on Monday, July 20, with National Assembly Speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer expected to temporarily exercise presidential powers until parliament elects a successor.
In a video address posted on his Facebook page, Sulyok said respect for the law had shaped his career as a lawyer, constitutional judge and head of state.
“For me, all power can only be interpreted within the framework of the law,” he said, adding that the rule of law meant “the rule of law over arbitrariness.”
However, Sulyok strongly criticized the amendment, which terminates the incumbent president’s mandate through a single constitutional provision.
“This sentence joins the ranks of forced Gordian solutions that will remain for posterity as serious and shameful historical examples of the abuse of political power,” he said.
Sulyok argued that the amendment represented a turning point for Hungary’s constitutional democracy and created a damaging precedent for the separation of powers and institutional independence.
He explained that refusing to sign the measure would have placed him in breach of his constitutional obligations, as the president cannot seek a substantive review of a constitutional amendment by the Constitutional Court.
“After carefully weighing my legal options and my conscience, I fulfil my obligation under the Fundamental Law,” Sulyok said. “My signature is the final seal of my complete respect for the duties of the president and the institution of the presidency.”
Hungary’s 199-seat parliament approved the amendment on July 13 by 139 votes to six. Lawmakers from former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party boycotted the vote. The package also establishes a 12-year limit for members of parliament and introduces a retirement age of 70 for Constitutional Court judges.
Magyar’s Tisza Party secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the April election, allowing it to amend the constitution. The government has defended the reforms as necessary to restore democratic accountability, while critics have warned that removing the president through a constitutional amendment could weaken institutional safeguards.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Péter Magyar officially took office as Hungary's new prime minister after securing parliamentary approval during the inaugural session of the National Assembly.
