Midnight on July 19 marks the end of Tamás Sulyok's presidency after he signed a constitutional amendment that cut short his term under Hungary's new rules.
The 17th amendment was pushed through by Prime Minister Péter Magyar's Tisza Party after its April election victory ended Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule; Sulyok said refusing to sign could have triggered impeachment and immediate suspension.
Ágnes Forsthoffer, speaker of the National Assembly, will become acting president from Monday until parliament elects a new head of state within a month.
The overhaul also imposes a 12-year term limit for lawmakers and a mandatory retirement age of 70 for Constitutional Court judges, forcing out Orbán ally Péter Polt.
Orbán called the changes authoritarian, while Magyar said they would make institutions more accountable; Human Rights Watch separately warned the rushed constitutional rewrite raised democratic-governance concerns.
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After Sulyok: Hungary’s 2026 Constitutional Crisis and the Struggle for Rule of Law
Overview
In July 2026, Hungary’s new government removed President Tamás Sulyok after passing the 17th constitutional amendment, citing fears he could block their reforms. The government argued that Sulyok, appointed by the previous administration, might use his powers to hinder change, especially given his authority to sign or review laws. Health Minister Zsolt Hegedűs claimed a 'deep state' had been built over sixteen years to keep the old order’s influence, justifying the president’s removal as necessary to break this hold. This marked the start of sweeping constitutional changes aimed at reshaping Hungary’s political system.