Hungary’s former president Tamás Sulyok claims his ouster ends the rule of law

On 13 July 2026 the Hungarian Parliament adopted a controversial amendment (Article 17) to the Fundamental Law that terminated the mandate of President Tamás Sulyok and several Constitutional Court judges. The law took effect the next day, ending Sulyok’s term at midnight and transferring the duties of the head of state to the Speaker of Parliament, Ágnes Forsthoffer.

In an interview with Mandiner, Sulyok said his removal was unconstitutional and marked the demise of the rule of law in Hungary. He rejected Reuters’s description of his departure as the fall of “one of Viktor Orbán’s power bastions,” calling it “absurd.” He characterised Prime Minister Péter Magyar as having a “determined political character” while “legal considerations matter less” to him.

Sulyok announced that he would sign the amendment and, after the law’s proclamation, posted a comment‑less photograph on Facebook showing his first day outside the presidential residence. Slovak, Czech and Serbian media quoted regional politicians describing the changes as a “cleaning fire” and, in some cases, bordering on a coup.

The episode has drawn criticism from European institutions and opposition figures, who warn that the rapid constitutional overhaul undermines democratic guarantees and the independence of Hungary’s institutions.