Hungary's Peter Magyar Demands President's Resignation After Landslide Election Win

Peter Magyar, the incoming prime minister of Hungary whose TISZA party won a landslide victory in the April 12 parliamentary elections, demanded the resignation of President Tamás Sulyok on Wednesday, calling him unworthy of his office, while also announcing plans to suspend state media news broadcasts once his government is formed. Magyar met with Sulyok at Budapest's Sándor Palace on April 15, after which the president promised to grant Magyar the mandate to form a government. The meeting came as Hungary began a formal transition of power following TISZA's historic win, which ended 16 years of rule by Viktor Orbán. Magyar described Sulyok as a "puppet" of the Orbán regime and said the president was incapable of serving as a moral authority or guardian of the laws. The incoming prime minister nonetheless described the 40-minute conversation as polite, telling reporters he had informed Sulyok not to take the demand personally.

Viktor Orbán has served as Hungary's prime minister since 2010, having previously held the office from 1998 to 2002. His governments systematically reshaped Hungary's constitutional and institutional landscape, packing the Constitutional Court, the prosecutor's office, and the public media with loyalists. Tamás Sulyok, who previously chaired the Constitutional Court, became president in 2024 after his predecessor Katalin Novák resigned over a pardon granted in an abuse case — the same scandal that first propelled Magyar onto the political stage. TISZA secured a two-thirds majority in the new parliament, giving Magyar the constitutional tools to amend laws and remove officials appointed under Orbán.

„In view of the clear election result, he would propose Magyar for the office of Prime Minister at the constituent session of Parliament.” — Péter Magyar via Reuters

Magyar warned that if Sulyok refused to resign voluntarily, his government would use its parliamentary supermajority to amend the constitution and remove the president from office. Magyar named Sulyok alongside the country's Prosecutor General and the President of the Constitutional Court as officials he considers illegitimate holdovers of the Orbán system. Sulyok's term has three years remaining, but Magyar argued the president lacks the democratic legitimacy to continue. According to reporting by Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Sulyok was said to be considering a withdrawal. The president retains the power to refer draft laws to the Constitutional Court, a body staffed exclusively with lawyers close to Orbán, meaning he could serve as a significant institutional brake on the new government's agenda.

Magyar calls state broadcaster a "factory of lies" Magyar appeared on public television channel M1 and Radio Kossuth on Wednesday for the first time in over a year and a half, using the appearances to announce that he would suspend news broadcasts on both outlets after taking office. He described the state media as a "factory of lies" that had spread what he called the Orbán government's war propaganda and frightened the population. Magyar said that once his government is formed, it would adopt a new media law, establish a new media regulatory authority, and create the professional conditions necessary for public broadcasting to function independently. When a moderator on M1 noted that suspending news broadcasts would violate existing media law, Magyar responded that this was like a thief calling the police, arguing the broadcaster had itself violated legal requirements for neutrality for years.

„Every Hungarian deserves a public media that transmits reality, which is why a new media law, a new media regulatory authority, and the creation of the necessary professional conditions for the public media to truly fulfill its function will be needed.” — Péter Magyar via Mediafax.ro

Magyar recalled that his last appearance on public media had been on September 26, 2024, and said it had taken the votes of over 3.3 million (voters) — Hungarians who backed TISZA in the April 12 election for him to be granted airtime again. A presenter on M1 disputed his account, saying the station had contacted him as recently as January 26 and had sent invitations for seven consecutive days before that. Magyar dismissed the exchange, saying he held no personal resentment even though the channel had, in his words, insulted him and his family on air. He also outlined broader policy commitments made during the campaign: maintaining and expanding utility tariff reductions, repatriating the 17 billion (euros) — in EU funds frozen over rule-of-law concerns under Orbán, and increasing defense spending.

Fuel reserves fall far short of EU rules, talks with MOL planned Magyar identified fuel security as an immediate priority for the transition period, saying he would hold talks with the leadership of oil company MOL in the coming days. Hungary's strategic oil and petroleum product reserves fell sharply to 44 days of net imports by the end of March 2026, down from 91 days at the end of February, according to data from the Hungarian Hydrocarbon Storage Association. By mid-April the association reported that replenishment was underway and reserves had recovered to 53 days of net imports — still well below the 90-day threshold required under EU rules.

2026-02: 91, 2026-03: 44, 2026-04: 53

The drop was driven by a suspension of deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline through Ukraine, which carries Russian crude to Hungarian refineries. MOL told Reuters that supplies were continuing via the Adriatic pipeline and that fuel deliveries inside Hungary remained uninterrupted, citing supply agreements with Libya, Kazakhstan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. The company also noted that its Danube refinery was operating at reduced capacity following a fire in one of its units in October. Magyar said he hoped the Druzhba pipeline could be restarted by the end of April but cautioned that even if it were, replenishing strategic reserves would take additional time.

„The most important thing is that supply security be guaranteed in the coming weeks under the outgoing government, and then in the first days of the TISZA government.” — Péter Magyar via Reuters

Magyar placed responsibility for the reserve shortfall squarely on the outgoing Orbán administration, saying it bore enormous responsibility for its decisions over the next 20 to 30 days. The constituent session of the new parliament is expected to take place on May 6 or 7, 2026, according to Magyar's statements following his meeting with Sulyok. Under Hungary's constitution, the new parliament must convene within 30 days of the election, setting a deadline of May 12. At that session, the president will formally propose a prime minister, who will then be elected by the deputies.