Hungary votes to remove President Sulyok, risking constitutional crisis
Hungary's parliament has amended the constitution to remove President Tamás Sulyok, sparking a high-stakes legal standoff that tests the country's institutional stability after its seismic political shift.
Hungarian parliament amended the constitution on Monday to remove President Tamás Sulyok. Prime Minister Péter Magyar is driving the removal as the first major step in his "purgatorium" plan to dismantle the political legacy of Viktor Orbán.
Magyar, whose Tisza Party won a landslide election in April, has called the 70-year-old Sulyok unworthy of office. He accuses the president of failing to protect opposition activists from alleged secret service surveillance during the campaign. "The rule is that the secret service protects the Hungarian state and can never become the private army of the ruling party," Magyar said.
The drive to oust Sulyok is not purely symbolic. Legal expert Tamás Lattmann noted that the new government wants to prevent the president from using his pardon powers to shield former officials from potential criminal proceedings.
Sulyok refuses to step down, warning the move threatens democracy. He has requested an opinion from the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, which will discuss the matter in October. "I have no reason to resign; there is no constitutional basis for my removal," Sulyok said.
Sulyok now has five days to sign the amendment. If he refuses, parliament will begin impeachment proceedings and ask the Constitutional Court to revoke his mandate. This presents a significant risk for the new government. Because the court still holds a Fidesz-appointed majority, Lattmann warned it could rule that Sulyok acted unconstitutionally by not signing, yet leave him in office anyway.
The standoff is drawing scrutiny from Brussels. EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath indicated that personnel changes are legitimate after such a political shift, but the European Commission is actively monitoring the amendment. Nearly 50 MEPs have urged the Commission to address the issue urgently, given its implications for the rule of law.
Magyar has strong public backing; a May poll by the 21 Research Centre found 67% of voters want Sulyok removed. However, Orbán has called on citizens to resist a "forced" ousting. "If the president is forcibly removed from office, Hungary has the right to resist. And we will," Orbán said. The clash between a popular new government and entrenched institutional powers leaves Hungary facing prolonged legal uncertainty.
