Hungary: Opposition leader Magyar threatens constitutional change to remove president from office

Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar has threatened to amend the constitution in order to remove President Tamás Sulyok from office. Sulyok refused on Sunday to comply with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's ultimatum demanding his resignation by 31 May.

Hungary is in the grip of a sharp political crisis after President Tamás Sulyok refused on Sunday to comply with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's demand that he resign by 31 May at the latest. Sulyok has long been a close ally of Orbán, but a serious rift has emerged between the two politicians.

Opposition leader Péter Magyar announced that if the president does not step down voluntarily, he is prepared to use constitutional amendment to remove him from office. Magyar leads the Tisza party, which is Hungary's strongest opposition force and has emerged as a serious challenger to Orbán's Fidesz.

The situation is unusual because Sulyok has long been a trusted figure of the ruling party. Orbán's demand for his resignation points to deep tensions within Hungary's power structures, the precise causes of which have not yet become fully clear to the public.

Magyar stressed that the opposition is ready to take decisive steps to resolve the presidential crisis through constitutional means. The Hungarian parliament should theoretically be able to remove the president from office if a sufficient parliamentary majority can be assembled. This would be an unprecedented step in Hungarian political history.