The Hungarian President Tamas Szujók signed the constitutional amendment, which officially ends his own term as head of state. The news was announced in an official statement on Saturday, just hours before the deadline set by the country's new government expired.
The historic decision comes after massive pressure from the new Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his ruling Tisza party. They won a landslide victory in the elections in April this year, ending Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule. The amendment, described by the opposition as a "political purge" and by the ruling party as a "restoration of the rule of law", was adopted by parliament on Monday (July 14) with an overwhelming majority of 139 votes "for" and only 6 "against".
According to the adopted texts, Şüyök's mandate will end the day after the law enters into force. The head of state had a strict 5-day deadline to sign the document or send it to the Constitutional Court. Prime Minister Magyar explicitly warned that in case of refusal, an immediate impeachment procedure will be initiated, for which the ruling party has the necessary two-thirds majority. To prevent a subsequent institutional crisis, Şuyok chose to sign the amendment.
Radical reforms and the elimination of Orbán's legacy
The paragraphs of the 17th amendment to the Basic Law do not only affect the president, whom the prime minister has repeatedly called a “puppet of the previous regime“. The reform includes several other key changes:
- Judicial Power: The term of office of the President of the Constitutional Court, Peter Polt, is terminated, and a mandatory retirement age for judges of 70 years is introduced.
- Parliamentary mandates: A limit is introduced for members of parliament - a maximum of three mandates (12 years) in the legislative body. This affects more than half of the current MPs from the “Fidesz“ party.
- Fighting corruption: A new National Asset Recovery and Protection Office is being established to investigate misuse of public funds.
While MPs from the previous ruling party “Fidesz“ boycotted the vote and declared Magyar's actions the “end of Hungarian democracy“, the new government insists that it is fulfilling the will of the voters to dismantle the autocratic system. Parliament is expected to announce a procedure in the coming days to elect a new, transitional head of state for Hungary.
Sources: Reuters, Euronews, Associated Press, Insight Hungary