Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok has formally appealed to the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission in an effort to navigate an escalating conflict with the country’s newly elected liberal prime minister, Péter Magyar.
Since taking office in early May, Magyar has repeatedly demanded the president’s resignation, condemning Sulyok’s close political ties to former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
In a statement released on Friday, the president’s office strongly denounced the prime minister’s pressure campaign:
The calls for the dismissal of the Head of State for political reasons and which, therefore, are incomprehensible according to the laws, create a seriously contradictory situation in the current constitutional order, which negatively affects the functioning and authority of the presidential institution of the Republic.
The Venice Commission, to which Sulyok has now turned, serves as the Council of Europe’s premier advisory body on constitutional matters. It provides legal assistance to member states seeking guidance on aligning their institutional and legal frameworks with European democratic principles and standards.
