Hungary's PM seeks constitutional changes to remove president

On June 1, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said that his government would amend the country's Fundamental Law if necessary to remove President Tamás Sulyok from office, after the head of state refused calls to resign.

Speaking outside Budapest's Sándor Palace following talks with Sulyok, Magyar accused the president of failing to defend democratic institutions and remaining silent on key public issues during his tenure, Caliber.Az reports, citing Hungarian media. 

"I informed him that if he does not resign voluntarily, we will immediately begin the necessary procedures," Magyar said, adding that the government would not pursue "tailor-made legislation" but would make constitutional changes needed to restore "the rule of law and democracy".

Magyar said the process could take around a month and reiterated his pledge to remove officials appointed under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's administration, whom he has described as "puppets" of the previous system.

The Tisza Party leader, whose party secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority in April's election, said Sulyok had declined to step down despite being asked directly during their meeting.

Sulyok rejected the demand in a video message on Sunday, saying he would remain in office and await an opinion from the Venice Commission. He insisted that any action against him must follow constitutional procedures, while expressing readiness to continue cooperating with the government.

Under Hungary's constitution, a president can be removed before the end of a term only under specific legal circumstances, including constitutional violations or intentional criminal offences.

Magyar has argued that voters backed a broad political transformation in April's election and has called for the resignation of several senior officials appointed during the Orbán era.

Sulyok's term is scheduled to run until March 2029. No Hungarian president has ever been removed from office since the country's democratic transition.

By Aghakazim Guliyev