Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok has agreed to step down after Parliament approved a constitutional amendment removing him from office, bringing an end to a political standoff that followed the country’s recent change of government.
Sulyok confirmed that he would sign the constitutional amendment before the legal deadline, with his resignation taking effect at midnight on Sunday.
The amendment was passed by Parliament following a proposal from Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s ruling Tisza party, which came to power in April after defeating the long-serving government of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The new administration argued that Sulyok, who was widely regarded as a close ally of Orbán, had lost public confidence and should leave office.
Although he agreed to comply with the constitutional amendment, Sulyok criticised the government’s action, accusing it of weakening Hungary’s constitutional framework.
In a statement, he said:
“The amendment represented a breaking point in Hungarian constitutional democracy and claimed that the core values of a free society have been trampled underfoot for the sake of political power.”
The constitutional amendment, which was passed by an overwhelming parliamentary majority on Monday, formally terminates Sulyok’s tenure on the grounds of a serious loss of public confidence.
The legislation also removes the head of Hungary’s Constitutional Court and bars lawmakers who have served three parliamentary terms from seeking re-election—a provision expected to affect more than half of the current legislators from Orbán’s Fidesz party.
Reacting to the development, Orbán condemned the amendment, describing it as an act of tyranny, and urged his supporters to stage protests.
His Fidesz party has struggled since suffering a heavy electoral defeat in April, with the former prime minister maintaining a low public profile and declining to take up his parliamentary seat.
Fidesz governed Hungary from 2010 until 2026, using its parliamentary supermajority during that period to reshape key state institutions and appoint allies to strategic public offices.
Following the parliamentary vote, members of the governing Tisza party welcomed the amendment with applause, while former President of the Hungarian Supreme Court, András Baka, defended the decision.
Speaking to reporters, Baka said:
“I quite agree with the removal of the president.”
