Hungary’s opposition party Fidesz has warned of “tyranny” in government after Prime Minister Peter Magyar submitted an amendment to remove President Tamas Sulyok, which could come into effect as early as next week.
Fresh off an April landslide that ended former leader Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule, Magyar has repeatedly pressed to remove the predecessor-appointed president, whom he calls “Orban’s puppet”.
In an amendment filed on Saturday, Magyar stipulates that “the mandate of the incumbent President of the Republic shall terminate on the day following the entry into force of the amendment to the Fundamental Law”.
With a parliamentary supermajority, the governing Tisza Party is expected to pass the amendment.
As reported by Euronews, the Fidesz party has called for a demonstration on Thursday in support of Sulyok.
Parliamentary sources say a vote on the removal of the president could come as early as next week, though there is no official confirmation.
Beyond the presidency, the package would remove four constitutional judges by setting their retirement age at 70 and cap parliamentary deputies at a 12-year mandate.
Defiant, Sulyok says he will not resign and calls Magyar’s move a threat to democracy.
“The question is whether this force will sweep away internationally recognized and required principles of the rule of law, as well as genuine representative democracy,” Sulyok said on Sunday.
Constitutional grounds
The Budapest Times reported that, in a Sunday interview with Poland’s Do Rzeczy publication, Sulyok said, “I have no reason to resign, and the prime minister has so far found no constitutional grounds for my removal.”
The proposal refers to the “current president” rather than to the office of the presidency in general, which means it can only be interpreted as “a piece of legislation tailored to a specific individual, which cannot in any way be described as a solution consistent with the rule of law”, he said.
Throughout his election campaign, Magyar repeatedly pledged to remove the president from office.
He contends that Sulyok failed to fulfill constitutional duties and did not defend opposition supporters during Orban’s tenure.
Fidesz warned of “tyranny” and called for the demonstration. Orban, who is still the opposition party’s leader, said: “The Tisza Party crosses all boundaries — human, moral and legal. Hungarian voters did not authorize this.”
According to the opposition, Sulyok was duly elected in accordance with the Constitution, and his removal would amount to personalized legislation.
