According to the provisions of the Fundamental Law, Agnes Forsthoffer, the speaker of the parliament, will temporarily exercise the powers of the president, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Saturday in a video posted on Facebook.

Parliament must elect a new president within 30 days, Magyar said.

He said that with the signature of Sulyok, the last obstacle to joint decisions coming into force has been removed. 

"The mandate of the president will cease, the Constitutional Court will be liberated, judicial self-administration will be strengthened, and there will be a constitutional basis for the establishment of the National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection Office".

Magyar noted that the amendment limits the term of members of parliament to 12 years. 

"This is significant not only because it fulfils important commitments. With these decisions they are returning something to the Hungarian people that the Orban regime tried to take away, the certainty that power can be limited, public funds can be recovered, and the state can once again serve free Hungarian citizens," Magyar said.

"Let's decide together! We don't want to find the most suitable candidate in cigar rooms. Let parties, public figures, civil society and private individuals make proposals. Tell us who and on what basis of values you consider worthy to represent Hungary, the Hungarian people," said Magyar regarding the election of the next president.

Magyar said he will convene Tisza’s leadership and its parliamentary group for consultation on Monday.

"I am confident that we can decide together in a short time who will be the new president. I will consult with group leaders of the parties about the candidates, and the final decision will be made by parliament. However, the moral basis for the nomination can be provided by the trust of society," he said.

"It would have been better, of course, if Tamas Sulyok had left office sooner. It would have been better to do it in a more dignified manner, to have reached this point with discretion, responsibility and resignation. But these amendments were also necessary because Hungary could not and cannot count on his discretion and the sense of responsibility towards the common homeland from the servants of the fallen Orban regime," Magyar said.

The prime minister said he was aware that even among their supporters, there are those who had been offended by the sharpness of his criticism of Sulyok in recent months.

He said his aim had been "that everyone can remember that it must never again happen in the history of Hungary that someone can be disregarded just because they have no power."

Magyar said that in the past week, the remnants of the Orban regime have collapsed at an unprecedented speed and in a previously unimaginable way.

He said he had seen millions of Hungarians "who want to do something, who hope, who act, who love their country, and this is more important than any personal, legislative or policy decision. This is the real regime change."

Magyar said Hungarians were facing a historic opportunity. They can finally create the country's first constitution that does not come as a result of party pacts, or the imprint of the political will of a single parliamentary majority. 

The process to draw up a new constitution will begin in the fall, in which the ideas, thoughts, and proposals of every Hungarian are welcome.

Magyar called on all Hungarians "not to leave their MPs and parties to their own devices" between elections.

"Ask questions, debate, speak out if we do something wrong, stand up for your town, your profession, your children, your neighbours, and those whose voices struggle to reach decision-makers," he said.

Shared concerns could take the form of "a broken road, a closed clinic, a crumbling school, infrequent bus services, a polluted stream, or young people lacking opportunities", he said. Politics should not be accepted as a thing distant and unchangeable, he said.

"We got to where we are today, we freed Hungary, by rejecting the false pact that politics is the business of politicians, while the people’s role is to listen, endure, and adapt," Magyar said.

"Together, we have defeated and closed the door on the past. Now it is up to all of us to work with the same unity for a free, functional, and humane Hungary. The nation comes first," Magyar said.

Tisza calls for non-partisan president

Hungary needs a non-partisan president, Prime Minister Peter Magyar, the Tisza Party's leader, said on Facebook on Saturday, after President Tamas Sulyok announced that he was signing the 17th amendment of the Fundamental Law under which his mandate will end the day after the amendment is published.

Agnes Forsthoffer, the speaker of parliament, will act as interim president. Parliament will have to elect a new president within 30 days.

"Tisza's stance is that a president without a past and commitment in party politics would represent Hungary's unity best," Magyar said.

Fundamental Law's 17th amendment published in official gazette

The 17th amendment of the Fundamental Law was published in the Official Gazette on Saturday. The day after the publication, President Tamas Sulyok's mandate will end.

According to the legislation, parliament will have 30 days to elect a new president. The new president's mandate will last until the new constitution comes into effect, but for 5 years maximum.

The amendment also introduced a limit of 12 years, or three election cycles, for lawmakers and limits the age of constitutional judges in 70 years. It also empowered judges to call back the head of the National Judicial Office and of the Supreme Court and opens the way to setting up the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office.

The amendment also orders the antiquated name for counties re-introduced by the Orban government, "varmegye", to be retired and "megye" to be used instead.

Fidesz: 'Open tyranny has arrived in Hungary'

Open tyranny has arrived in Hungary, due to the actions of Prime Minister Peter Magyar and the Tisza Party, the opposition party Fidesz said in a statement on Saturday, in response to President Tamas Sulyok signing the 17th amendment to Hungary’s fundamental law, which stipulates that his mandate will terminate.

"Magyar and the Tisza party have launched a violent attack on the president in a way that was unprecedented in the European Union, putting him in an undignified position, pressuring him and finally arbitrarily removing him from office. This is without precedent in Hungary since the darkest dictatorships," the party said.

Sulyok had become a victim of political violence perpetrated by Tisza, Fidesz said, adding that Magyar had pushed Hungary into a constitutional crisis. "If this can be done with the president today, then anything can be done with anyone in Hungary tomorrow."

The party’s parliamentary group will use its remaining tools against autocracy and supports all forms of peaceful and legal resistance to it, the statement said.

Viktor Orban, the leader of Fidesz and the former prime minister, said on Facebook: "Today, the last obstacle was toppled. Authority is not a threat any longer but reality," he said.

"If this can be done to the president of the republic, no one is safe any longer," he said. "God save Hungary," he concluded.

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

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