Hungary’s parliament votes to oust president in latest anti-Orban move

Hungarian parliament passes amendment that would remove President Sulyok, appointed under ex-Prime Minister Viktor Orban.Hungary’s parliament has approved a constitutional amendment to remove President Tamas Sulyok from his largely ceremonial position, the latest move to dismantle the power of figures associated with former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.The measure, passed on Monday with 139 votes in favour and only six opposing, would immediately bring an end to Sulyok’s term in office and pave the way for parliament to elect a new president.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Indonesia’s jailing of Gojek founder raises fears for investor confidencelist 2 of 3Who is Zeynep Sonmez, Wimbledon star with a ‘Palestine’ watermelon racket?list 3 of 3Billions flow between EU institutions and Israel, despite Gaza genocideend of listHungarians voted out the right-wing nationalist Orban in April, with new Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s Tisza Party winning in a landslide. The election result ended 16 years of power for Orban’s Fidesz party, which had come to dominate many aspects of the country.Since Magyar’s victory, he has sought to erode that power, including by removing the current president. The constitutional amendment also introduces a series of judicial reforms, creates a body to investigate alleged financial abuses under the previous government, and imposes a 12-year term limit on lawmakers.Sulyok now has five days to sign the constitutional amendment passed by parliament. Magyar has said that parliament will launch an impeachment procedure against Sulyok if he does not sign it.The president and other members of Fidesz boycotted Monday’s parliamentary session.Sweeping away the old orderThe parliament elected Sulyok, a former chief of the Hungary" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="164751" data-entity-type="organization">Constitutional Court of Hungary, in February 2024. He was nominated to replace Katalin Novak, who resigned after pardoning a man convicted of covering up child sexual abuse.