BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Opponents of the Hungarian government’s efforts to oust the country’s president gathered for a protest in the capital Budapest on Thursday after being called to action by the former autocratic prime minister, .
The protest drew several thousand people to the presidential offices at the opulent S谩ndor Palace in Budapest’s Castle District, where demonstrators spoke out in defense of President Tam谩s Sulyok, whom the new center-right government has .
After defeating Orb谩n in a in April, bringing an end to his 16 years in power, Hungary’s new pro-European prime minister, , has taken action to dismantle what he calls Orb谩n’s 鈥渕afia鈥� by removing numerous political appointees and heads of institutions viewed as having facilitated Orb谩n’s autocratic regime.
The constitutional amendment, set to go to a vote next week, would end Sulyok鈥檚 term, as well as set term limits for members of parliament, implement reforms to the judiciary and create a new authority tasked with uncovering alleged financial abuses by Orb谩n’s government.
But Orb谩n and his far-right Fidesz party, long accused of while in power, have declared that the move to remove Sulyok is an assault on the rule of law and democratic norms, and the first steps toward a dictatorship.
One protester, Krisztina Nemerk茅nyi, said Thursday that the demonstration was not about the person of Sulyok, 鈥渂ut about the office.鈥�
鈥淭he point is not whether Tam谩s Sulyok is popular or not, but that this is simply unacceptable in a democracy,鈥� she said.
Magyar has argued Sulyok failed to live up to his role as president by neglecting to stand in the way of antidemocratic steps by Orb谩n’s government. He promised repeatedly to remove Sulyok during the , and points to his party’s two-thirds majority in parliament as a clear mandate from voters to fulfill that promise.
While mostly a ceremonial role, Hungary鈥檚 president is responsible for signing legislation into law and has the power to send bills passed by parliament to the constitutional court for review. That’s raised concerns among supporters of the new government that Sulyok, an Orb谩n-era appointee, could use that power to obstruct its plans.
Ahead of Thursday鈥檚 protest 鈥� titled 鈥淪top Tyranny鈥� 鈥� Orb谩n vigorously promoted the event on social media, but did not attend. Since April, his Fidesz party, which organized the demonstration, has struggled to recover from its major election defeat.
J谩nos P贸cs, a Fidesz lawmaker, told The Associated Press at the protest that while Fidesz had passed many constitutional amendments 鈥� making 15 changes to the document that it unilaterally authored in 2011 鈥� it had done so 鈥渁lways in the interest of the country, in order to protect the country, but not for the sake of dictatorship.鈥�
After taking office in May, Magyar鈥檚 government went quickly to work fulfilling other campaign promises, such as suspending the news service of Hungary鈥檚 public television and radio, which Magyar has argued for Orb谩n鈥檚 party.
It has also implemented an 8-year term limit for prime ministers and ousted the heads of the national security and intelligence agencies that served under Orb谩n’s tenure. It also succeeded in (around $19 billion) in European Union funds for Hungary by enacting rapid reforms to roll back the democratic backsliding that occurred under Orb谩n.
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