139-to-6 vote forces President Sulyok out as PM Magyar dismantles 16-year Orban system

The vote and its mandate

Hungary's parliament adopted a constitutional amendment on 13 July 2026 that forces President Tamás Sulyok from office, advancing Prime Minister Péter Magyar's pledge to dismantle the structures of Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule. Lawmakers backed the measure by 139 votes to 6 (some outlets reported 6 abstentions), while all 54 Fidesz and KDNP deputies boycotted the session, denouncing what they called a slide toward tyranny. The governing Tisza party has held a two-thirds majority since April's landslide election, giving it the supermajority required to amend the constitution. Magyar told the chamber that failing to change the constitution would be a betrayal of the Hungarian nation.

We have completed the constitutional reform of the Orban regime.

Sulyok's defiance and next steps

President Sulyok, a former constitutional lawyer appointed by a Fidesz-dominated parliament in March 2024, has refused to resign and warned that forced removal would trigger a constitutional crisis. The amendment gives him five days to sign the law into effect; if he declines, Magyar said the government will launch impeachment proceedings, which would immediately suspend the president's powers and hand them to the parliamentary speaker. Sulyok condemned the procedure as a violation of the rule of law, democracy, and the separation of powers. He previously asked the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe for a legal opinion and could refer the amendment to the Constitutional Court, though that body may review only procedural aspects, not the substance. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has argued the court was packed with loyalists during Orbán's tenure.

Wider reforms and Orbán's legacy

The 17th constitutional amendment is part of a broader package presented as a transitional step ahead of a new constitution following a public consultation. It introduces a 12-year cap on MPs' mandates, a provision that would bar Orbán (who has sat in parliament since 1990) from ever returning. A separate amendment approved in mid-June already limited prime ministers to eight years in office. Monday's text also sets a 70-year age limit for constitutional judges, a change that affects four of the 15 current members, including court president Péter Polt, who is seen as loyal to Orbán. A new National Office for Asset Recovery and Protection was established to investigate corruption cases.

Every time he had to choose between constitutional principles and Fidesz interests, Tamás Sulyok chose, again and again, the interests of Fidesz, and continues to do so today.

Reactions and opposition

Fidesz group leader Gergely Gulyás resigned in protest, calling the measures unprecedented. From the United States, where he was attending the football World Cup, Orbán used Facebook to urge Hungarians to resist if the president is forced out. Gulyás had earlier said each proposal crosses borders but all together constitute something without precedent. Tisza lawmakers framed the vote as the culmination of a clear electoral mandate to break what Magyar described as a mafia-like structure that subordinated state institutions to a single person's will.

What comes next

If Sulyok signs or is impeached, parliament will elect a successor for a term of up to five years or until a new constitution takes effect. Magyar said he aims to have a new president in post by 20 August. The government's previous moves included a public media overhaul announced last week.