Thousands rally in Budapest against bid to remove Hungary's president
Thousands of people gathered in Budapest on Thursday for a demonstration organised by Hungary's opposition Fidesz party to protest a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove President Tamas Sulyok from office.
Footage from the rally showed demonstrators waving Hungarian flags and holding placards reading, "A dictatorship must be suppressed in its infancy" and "Stop tyranny" as they assembled outside the presidential office under the slogan, "Put an end to arbitrariness!"
Former president Janos Ader criticised the proposed amendment, describing the Tisza Party's initiative as unprecedented.
"After this constitutional amendment, anything can happen to anyone at any time in Hungary. And this leads not to legal certainty but to anarchy," Ader said.
Protesters accused Prime Minister Peter Magyar's government of undermining the constitution and the rule of law. "This is a trampling of the Constitution, the trampling of the rule of law and the death of democracy. If this remains the case and they remove the president of the Republic, then we must stand by them," said influencer Istvan Szakacs, who was previously arrested after posting a Facebook video stating that "If Viktor Orban gets to jail, 500,000 people will march and set him free."
Another demonstrator, identified only as Eszter, criticised Magyar's treatment of the president.
"The way he spoke to the president of the Republic is simply outrageous, shocking, and you cannot do such a thing. They didn't do that to the previous president of the Republic either," she said.
The protest was held in response to the proposed 17th Amendment to Hungary's Fundamental Law, introduced by the Tisza Party. The amendment would make changes affecting several public offices, including that of President Tamas Sulyok, and would also impose a 12-year term limit on Members of Parliament.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
