WORLD NEWS: The Hungarian Parliament approves the constitutional reform that removes the Orbanist president | International
International Report:
The following report highlights an important international development currently attracting worldwide attention.
The Hungarian Parliament approved this Monday a constitutional amendment to remove President Tamás Sulyok, whom the Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, considers a “puppet” of the former head of government, Viktor Orbán. The initiative is part of Magyar’s strategy to dismantle the bastions of power built by Orbán, a task for which he claims to have received a strong mandate from voters. The center-right Tisza party ended the 16 years of government by Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz in April with a resounding electoral victory. “It would be a betrayal of the Hungarian nation if we did not touch this Constitution,” Magyar told Parliament before the vote on the amendment. “They (Fidesz) organized the country in such a way that the will of a single man became the source of legislative work… Tisza obtained a clear and enormous two-thirds majority to dismantle this system.” The amendment would immediately end Sulyok’s mandate, citing a “serious loss of confidence” of society in him. Parliament would elect a new president until a new Constitution comes into force, or for a maximum period of five years. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar with the country’s president, Tamas Sulyok, last April. Magyar also announced that a “big joint project” with the Hungarian public will begin in the fall to draft a new Constitution. He added that if Sulyok does not sign the new constitutional amendment within five days, Parliament will begin impeachment proceedings against him. Ceremonial figure Under the Hungarian Constitution, the president is a primarily ceremonial head of state, with limited powers to veto legislation or request its review. Magyar’s Tisza party has a parliamentary supermajority, allowing it to modify the Constitution and reverse changes promoted by Orbán that, it maintains, eroded democracy. The Government has already acted quickly and last week suspended public television and radio news as part of a reform aimed at guaranteeing the independence of public media. Sulyok, who was a judge at the Constitutional Court for 10 years until Parliament, with the Fidesz supermajority, named him president in 2024, maintains that he has no political agenda and has so far refused to resign. The president has asked the Venice Commission – an advisory body to the Council of Europe in constitutional matters—that evaluates the reform promoted by the Government. This commission advises on the compatibility of constitutional changes with democratic principles. The Venice Commission has declined to comment. Last Thursday, Orbán’s party organized a protest in support of Sulyok, although the former prime minister did not participate. Fidesz deputies boycotted Monday’s parliamentary session. The reform also establishes that parliamentarians will only be able to serve for a maximum of 12 years. The head of the parliamentary group, Gergely Gulyás, resigned due to the amendment, considering that it would prevent him from running in the next elections due to the time he has held a seat in Parliament. The amendment also sets an age limit of 70 years for judges of the Constitutional Court. This measure would force the current president, Péter Polt, an ally of Orbán, to retire.
Why This Matters:
Officials and international observers are expected to continue monitoring the story closely over the coming days.
Political and economic analysts are paying close attention to the potential consequences of these events.
Stay tuned for further updates on this developing international story.
Source: This article was originally published by Internacional en EL PAÍS and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.