Sulyok signs amendment that will end his term

18.07.2026 19:25 HotInfo

Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok announced on Saturday evening that he will sign the 17th amendment to the basic law, which will also end his presidential term once the amendment is promulgated. The decision came after parliament approved the constitutional change on Monday, a change pushed by the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his Tisza party. ta3.com ↗

Sulyok had previously used the entire five-day period allowed for the decision. In a video, he stated that after weighing the legal options and his own conscience, he would fulfill the obligation arising from the basic law. In addition to ending his mandate, the amendment will also end the tenure of Péter Polt and three other constitutional judges. Parliament is to elect a new president within thirty days. Tagesspiegel ↗

Magyar had already called for Sulyok's departure and questioned his foreign trips, including a January visit to the United Kingdom, where, according to him, the president spent two days at public expense in the city where his daughter lives. Shortly before the deadline expired, the prime minister posted the message "Tick-tock, tick-tock." According to earlier reports, the government is also searching for possible candidates for the new head of state. teraz.sk ↗

The opposition reacted sharply. After Sulyok's announcement, Viktor Orbán wrote that the last safeguard had fallen, claiming that if this could happen to the president of the republic, then no one is safe. Fidesz had already boycotted the session before the vote, and Gergely Gulyás resigned as head of its parliamentary faction. Index.hu ↗

Further developments will shift to the selection of a new head of state and to filling the vacated seats on the Constitutional Court. The Venice Commission is not expected to address Sulyok's submissions until October. HVG ↗

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