Hungary ends Tamás Sulyok term as Péter Magyar accelerates Orbán purge

Budapest,UPDATED: Jul 19, 2026 02:44 IST

Hungary's President Tams Sulyok on Saturday signed into law a constitutional amendment that ends his term, bringing an end to a dispute with Prime Minister Pter Magyar's new government, which has been moving to remove officials appointed during Viktor Orbn's time in power.

The amendment, passed this week by lawmakers from Magyar's pro-European, centre-right Tisza party, will take effect at midnight on Monday. Parliament Speaker gnes Forsthoffer will then automatically assume the president's duties until lawmakers elect a new president within 30 days.

Magyar, who defeated the long-serving Orbn in a landslide election in April, had repeatedly called on Sulyok to resign. He argued that the Orbn-appointed president had failed in his role by not standing in the way of what he described as antidemocratic steps by Orbn's government. When Sulyok refused to step down, the amendment was passed to end his term immediately. Sulyok had five days to sign it into law and did so on the final day before the deadline.

In a video posted on Facebook on Saturday evening, Sulyok, whom Magyar had often called Orbn's "puppet", said being made to sign the amendment was "lasting proof that the fundamental values of a free society, the rule of law, democracy, the principle of power-sharing, have been trampled on in the interest of power".

Since taking office in May, Magyar's administration has moved quickly to dismantle what he calls Orbn's "mafia" by removing a number of political appointees and institutional heads seen as having enabled Orbn's autocratic government. The new government also suspended the news service of Hungary's public television and radio, which Magyar said had served as a "propaganda factory" for Orbn's party, and shut the Sovereignty Protection Office, which Orbn's opponents saw as a tool to intimidate critics and silence independent media.

The amendment that removed Sulyok also introduced some judicial reforms, created an office to investigate financial abuses under the Orbn government, and imposed a 12-year term limit on lawmakers. In a Facebook post on Saturday, Orbn said that "tyranny is no longer a threat, but a reality" and added, "If this could be done to the president of the republic, then tomorrow no one will be safe." In a video statement on Facebook, Magyar said that by passing the amendment, "we have fulfilled several of our important commitments and returned what the Orbn regime tried to take away from the Hungarian people for many years". He added that he would convene his party on Monday to discuss its nomination for the next president.

With Sulyok's term ending on Monday, Hungary's new government has pushed ahead with one of its most significant political changes since taking office, while Orbn, Sulyok and Magyar have sharply differed over what the move means for the country's democracy and rule of law.

With PTI Inputs

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