Hungarian PM raises pressure on president ahead of constitutional vote

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has threatened President Tamas Sulyok with removal from office regardless of whether he signs a constitutional amendment that parliament is set to adopt, which предусматривает his dismissal.

"On Monday, the National Assembly (parliament) will adopt the 17th amendment to the Basic Law. The President of the Republic will have five days to sign it. If he does not do so, a procedure for his removal from office may be initiated," Magyar wrote on Facebook.

The government has already submitted to parliament the draft 17th amendment to the constitution, which предусматривает Sulyok’s removal from the presidency.

Hungary’s new leadership plans to draft a new constitution within a year and believes that a different head of state should be elected for the interim period. This is stipulated in the 17th amendment to the Basic Law, which is scheduled for a parliamentary vote on July 13.

Under Hungarian law, the president may refer legislation passed by parliament to the Constitutional Court if he objects to it. Sulyok has already appealed to the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, requesting an opinion on the dispute from the standpoint of constitutional law and European democratic standards.

By Tamilla Hasanova