Hungarian president resigns after parliament approves impeachment
Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok has agreed to step down after signing a constitutional amendment that would end his term at midnight on Sunday. The amendment, pushed through parliament by Prime Minister Péter Magyar's Tisza Party, aims to remove Sulyok, who is seen as a loyalist of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who lost power in April after 16 years. Sulyok has five days to sign the amendment or face a lengthy constitutional crisis and impeachment proceedings.
He said he would agree to the changes when they expire on Saturday evening, but in a statement accused the Magyar government of violating the law. He said the changes were a turning point in Hungary's constitutional democracy and said "the core values of a free society...are being trampled underfoot for political power." It was the biggest and most surprising move by the Tisza government, which saw Sulyok as a servant of the previous government and prompted him to resign.
The government has made sweeping constitutional changes since winning a landslide victory in April. Orbán has described the changes as arbitrary and has called for protests. Since the April election, Orbán’s party has suffered a sharp decline, and Orbán himself has been rarely seen in public and has refused to take a seat in parliament.
Since his party won power in April, Péter Magyar has continuously called for Sulyok to resign.
