The amendment also reimposes a mandatory retirement age of 70 for all Constitutional Court judges, a move that would result in the removal of four current justices, including Polt, the court’s president.
When asked in June whether he would sign an amendment removing him from power, Sulyok told POLITICO, “I can never say for certain in advance whether I will sign a law or not.”
On Monday morning, Magyar accused Orbán’s Fidesz party of preemptively prohibiting Sulyok from signing the amendment, saying that “Fidesz has shifted to direct control in the Sándor Palace,” referring to the office of the president. Sulyok denied Magyar’s claims on Monday, saying that Magyar is seeking “to manipulate public opinion and exert pressure on the President’s autonomous decision” of whether to sign the amendment.
Sulyok, who previously served as president of the Constitutional Court under Orbán, was lifted from relative obscurity when the former prime minister appointed him president in 2024. He is one of the most unpopular presidents in the country’s post-Cold War history, largely because of his association with Orbán.
“In a few weeks, Mr. President, Hungary will have a new President of the Republic,” Magyar said.
