Hungarian MPs have approved constitutional amendments that allow for early termination of President Tamás Sulyok's term. 139 MPs voted for the amendments, six opposed.
This is reported by Politico and Telex.
Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party, along with its KDNP allies, boycotted the vote.
Now President Tamás Sulyok must sign the amendments himself. The law gives him five days to do so.
If Sulyok refuses to sign the changes, Prime Minister Peter Magyar has promised to initiate impeachment proceedings.
In a comment to Politico, the President said that his removal could cause a "constitutional crisis."
The initiator of the constitutional changes was the Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar.
"Every time he had to choose between constitutional principles and the interests of Fidesz, Tamás Sulyok has chosen the interests of Fidesz again and again and continues to do so to this day," Magyar said.
The amendments also change the rules for MPs and the Constitutional Court
In addition to the procedure for the early removal of the President, the parliament supported several other constitutional changes.
In particular, the amendments:
- limit the maximum term of office of MPs in parliament to 12 years;
- restore the age limit for judges of the Constitutional Court, which will force four current judges to leave their positions, including the court's president, Péter Polta.
Against the backdrop of the adoption of the changes, the leader of the parliamentary faction Fidesz Gergely Gulyás announced his resignation in protest.
Peter Magyar called on Tamás Sulyok to resign after his political force won the parliamentary elections.
"I call on the President of the Republic to immediately ask the winner to form a government and then resign. I call on all the puppets who have been in power for the past 16 years to do the same," Magyar said.
As a reminder, on May 9, the newly elected parliament gathered in Hungary for its inaugural session, the new Hungarian government headed by Peter Magyar was sworn in and officially begins work.
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