A constitutional amendment passed by the Hungarian parliament on Monday means that far-right populist Viktor Orbán, who was voted into power in April, can never become prime minister again.
The proposal from the camp of new Prime Minister Péter Magyar was supported by 135 lawmakers, of whom 50 voted against and six abstained, according to data from the parliament’s website.
The amendment says that no one can hold the highest government office if they have already held a total of at least eight years.
Orbán spent about 20 years as prime minister in two terms, ruling from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2010 to 2026.
The new rule also applies to Magyar. It limits him to a maximum of two full legislative terms, meaning he could be re-elected once unless an early election is held.
Term limits for prime ministers are unusual in modern democracies.
However, during Magar’s campaign and that of his conservative Tisza party, it was one of the central election promises. In parliamentary elections on April 12, Tisza secured a landslide victory over Orbán’s Fidesz party.
In the new parliament, Tisza has a comfortable two-thirds majority, which she used for the first time on Monday to amend the constitution that was drawn up under Orbán 16 years ago and amended several times during his tenure in power.
(Vijesti.ba)
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