Hungarian parliament votes to end President Tamás Sulyok’s term under a sweeping new constitutional overhaul.
A profound political shift is taking place in Hungary as the country’s parliament voted on Monday, July 13, 2026, to pass a sweeping constitutional amendment that effectively ends Tamás Sulyok’s presidency. Meeting at the National Assembly in Budapest, lawmakers approved the 17th amendment to the country’s Fundamental Law by a dominant margin of 139 votes in favor to just six against. The legislative action immediately terminates President Sulyok’s mandate, a move designed to restructure key state institutions and break the remaining influence of the country’s previous government.
The sudden removal of the president is a direct result of the dramatic shift in Hungary’s leadership following parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his governing Tisza party, which recently secured a powerful two-thirds majority in parliament, championed the amendment to dismantle the constitutional system established under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Sulyok, who was appointed to his role under Orbán’s administration, was widely seen by the new government as an obstacle to their planned reforms. By introducing a rule that ends the president’s term almost immediately after the law takes effect, the new parliamentary majority successfully bypassed the traditional roadblocks to removing a sitting head of state.
According to reports, the constitutional overhaul goes far beyond just replacing the president. The new amendment introduces a mandatory retirement age of 70 for constitutional judges, which immediately ends the term of Constitutional Court President Péter Polt and several of his peers. Additionally, the law establishes a strict three-term or 12-year service limit for members of parliament. This term-limit rule will eventually prevent more than half of the deputies from the opposition Fidesz party from running for office again in future elections, sparking intense political debate across the nation.
The dramatic vote has triggered a sharp divide within Hungarian politics. Members of Orbán’s Fidesz party and their coalition partners completely boycotted the parliamentary session in protest, calling the sudden removal of the president an anti-democratic power grab. Former Prime Minister Orbán publicly condemned the decision, describing the changes as an act of autocracy and asserting that citizens have a right to resist. In response, Prime Minister Magyar defended the vote as a necessary step to restore the independence of state institutions, limit the entrenchment of political power, and reclaim public assets.
See Also: Lindsey Graham’s Sister Appointed to Fill His Vacant US Senate Seat After His Sudden Death
As Euractiv reports, President Sulyok has strongly criticized the speed of the legislative process. He argued that parliament should have waited for a formal legal review from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, which is not scheduled to look over the changes until October. Despite these objections, the Prime Minister stated that Sulyok has only five days to sign the amendment into law. If Sulyok refuses to sign it, the governing Tisza party has warned that they will immediately launch formal impeachment proceedings against him to ensure his departure.
With the passage of the 17th amendment, Hungary enters a period of significant transition. Further reporting from ConstitutionNet notes that this vote is just the beginning of a larger overhaul, as the current government plans to launch a wider constitution-drafting process involving the public later this autumn. As the new laws take effect, international observers and European partners will be closely watching how these rapid changes impact the balance of power and democratic checks and balances in Budapest.
