Hungary’s parliament has approved a constitutional amendment that limits prime ministers to a maximum of eight years in office, closing the door on any return to power by former leader Viktor Orbán after two decades in the country’s highest political office.
The measure passed on Monday with support from the governing Tisza Party, led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, whose landslide election victory in April ended Orbán’s 16-year run as head of government and handed the new administration a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
The amendment states that anyone who has already served as prime minister for at least eight years since the democratic transition of 1990 cannot be elected to the post again.
Orbán served as prime minister from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2010 until his election defeat in April. His combined time in office totalled 20 years, making him the longest-serving head of government in modern Hungarian history.
Under the new rules, that record also prevents him from seeking another term.
During the election campaign, Magyar promised what he described as a change of regime and pledged to dismantle structures created during Fidesz rule. His party’s parliamentary majority has enabled it to pursue constitutional reforms without needing support from opposition groups.
The amendment now moves to President Tamás Sulyok for review. Sulyok, who was appointed during the Fidesz era, has resisted calls from the new government to step down. If he returns the legislation to parliament, lawmakers retain the power to approve it again and override objections.
The term-limit measure arrives just days after Orbán secured another term as leader of Fidesz despite the party’s election defeat.
Reacting to the vote, Orbán struck a defiant tone on social media.
“The Orbán law has been passed. That was the most pressing issue. If I’m needed, I’ll be here,” he wrote.
The constitutional package targets several institutions established during Orbán’s years in office.
Among the most significant changes is the planned dismantling of the Sovereignty Protection Office, an agency created in 2023 to investigate what the previous government described as foreign influence in Hungarian public life.
The office examined journalists, civil society organisations and opposition figures. Critics argued that the body functioned as a political tool aimed at those who challenged government policies.
The amendment also affects a network of public-interest foundations that received state assets during Orbán’s administration.
HT