Hungarian parliament votes to remove president from office

Hungary's parliament voted on Monday to remove President Tamás Sulyok from office, using a constitutional amendment that was fast-tracked by the new ruling party Tisza. Sulyok was widely seen as a loyalist of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who lost power in the April elections after 16 years.

The 17th amendment to the constitution, passed by Tisza's two-thirds majority, also removes Constitutional Court President Péter Polt, mandates the dismissal of judges over 70, and bars deputies who have served three terms from running again—affecting more than half of the current Fidesz lawmakers. The vote was the most dramatic parliamentary session since the new government took office in May.

President Sulyok now has five days to either sign the amendment or refer it to the Constitutional Court. If he refers it, Prime Minister Péter Magyar has threatened to launch impeachment proceedings, which would automatically suspend Sulyok. Alternatively, the government has urged him to resign to avoid a constitutional crisis.

Opposition Fidesz deputies walked out before the vote, accusing Tisza of building a tyranny. They argued that the amendment gives the government arbitrary power to dismiss any public official. However, critics note the irony: Fidesz itself had used its two-thirds majority to reshape state institutions and fill them with loyalists after 2010. The current situation reflects the "winner-takes-all" principle embedded in the 2011 constitution written by Orbán's government.

Since the electoral defeat, Orbán has been largely absent from public life, refusing to take his seat in parliament. On Monday, he left Hungary to watch the football World Cup finals in the United States. Internal anger is growing within Fidesz, with deputy leader Gergely Gulyás resigning as head of the parliamentary group on the same day.