Overview
- Prime Minister Peter Magyar presented a draft constitutional amendment on Monday that would terminate President Tamás Sulyok’s mandate with immediate effect.
- Magyar’s Tisza-Partei won a two-thirds majority in April, a margin that formally allows the government to change the constitution without cross-party support.
- Sulyok has refused to resign and has asked the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s constitutional advisory body, to review the move while calling the charges against him unconstitutional.
- Domestic critics and groups such as Amnesty International along with political scientist Gábor Török warn the amendment would set a dangerous precedent by using constitutional change as a targeted political tool.
- The proposal is part of a broader Magyar agenda to dismantle structures linked to Viktor Orbán, including anti‑corruption and media reforms that the government says are needed to unlock withheld EU funds and reshape public institutions.