Hungarian President asks Venice Commission on removal plan

Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok has formally requested an urgent international legal opinion on a government proposal to remove him from office, escalating a constitutional crisis less than three months after a new government took power. The president submitted a detailed request to the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, a constitutional advisory body, arguing that the proposed amendment to Hungary's Fundamental Law is a politically motivated act incompatible with European rule-of-law standards.

The crisis stems from a constitutional amendment submitted to parliament by Prime Minister Péter Magyar's governing Tisza Party on July 4. The amendment states that the mandate of the incumbent president shall terminate the day after the amendment enters into force. The government, which won a two-thirds supermajority in parliamentary elections in April, has indicated it aims to have a new head of state in place by the August 20 national holiday. A parliamentary vote could occur as early as next week.

President Sulyok, who was appointed by a parliament led by the former governing party Fidesz in 2024, has refused to resign. In a 22-page submission published on July 7, he argues the...