Hungary’s president signs law change ending his term in office

Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok has signed a constitutional amendment passed by Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s ruling Tisza party that ends his term as head of state, Sulyok said in a statement on Saturday.

The legislation was part of Magyar’s drive to dismantle former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s bastions of power, for which Magyar says he received a strong mandate from voters after ousting the right-wing leader in an April election landslide.

The amendment will end Sulyok’s term immediately, citing society’s “serious loss of confidence” in a leader elected in early 2024 by lawmakers from Orban’s Fidesz party.

Sulyok said he had no choice but to rubber-stamp the legislation as it respected the letter of the law. However, the former Constitutional Court judge warned the reform has harmed the rule of law in Hungary.

“The seventeenth amendment to the Constitution has marked a watershed in Hungary’s constitutional democracy,” Sulyok said.

“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.”