BUDAPEST — Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok, an appointee of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, on Friday approved a constitutional amendment barring the same Orbán from returning to office.
The amendment limits prime ministers to no more than eight years in office. Orbán served a total of 20 years. The Hungarian parliament overwhelmingly approved the amendment on Monday, sending it to the president’s desk for his signature.
The amendment follows a longtime campaign promise by the Magyar government to introduce term limits, which would also apply to Prime Minister Péter Magyar, too.
In his decision, Sulyok wrote that the popularly dubbed “lex Orbán” was “virtually unique both in Europe and worldwide.” Although he signed the amendment instead of sending it to the Constitutional Court for review, he said that the decision would be “limiting” the will of the people.
Meanwhile, Magyar is working to remove president Sulyok from office, accusing him of being a “puppet” of the previous regime. The incoming prime minister’s efforts to turn the page on the Orbán regime ran into trouble earlier this year when Sulyok rejected Magyar’s demand that he resign, setting up what Sulyok has called a “constitutional crisis.”