Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Monday that his government would initiate a procedure to remove the president from office through a constitutional amendment and that a constitutional reform would begin in the fall, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Magyar also told parliament that his government would take sweeping economic, political and legal measures to root out corruption in Hungary, including by establishing a National Office for the Protection and Recovery of Assets.
Magyar's planned anti-corruption reforms he called "Operation Purgatory".
Changes are planned in 47 laws to create the legal basis for a new National Office for the Protection and Recovery of Assets, which will investigate suspected misuse of public funds over the past two decades.
According to the assessment of Magyar said corruption has cost Hungarians between 8% and 10% of their gross domestic product in recent years.
Gergey Guias, a member of parliament from the former ruling Fidesz party, called Magyar's speech "slanderous and outrageous."
With a constitutional amendment, the new Hungarian prime minister wants to remove President Tamas Suyok from office, whom Magyar accused of supporting the rule of former right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Suyok is considered one of the most unpopular politicians in Hungary. The president, for his part, said he had no political goals and was simply providing the necessary checks and balances. Parliament will elect a new president with a maximum term of five years if and when Suyok is removed.
A comprehensive review of the constitution, including public consultations, is planned to begin in the fall. The new constitution will be put to a referendum.
There will be changes to the legal norms that will raise the age limit for judges on the Constitutional Court, which can block some laws, to 70. With the adoption of the changes, Orbán ally Peter Polt would have to retire as president of the court. The reforms would allow two-thirds of the judges to initiate the removal of the presidents of the Supreme Court and the National Judicial Service, provided that this is approved by two-thirds of the legislators.
The mandate of deputies will be limited to 12 years.