Sulyok elected

Opposition boycotted presidential election in Hungary

Tamás Sulyok after his election as President of Hungary(Bild: APA/AFP/ATTILA KISBENEDEK)

Hungary has a new president. The former President of the Constitutional Court, Tamás Sulyok, was elected head of state in parliament on Monday with a two-thirds majority.

The 67-year-old, who was nominated by the governing faction, received 134 votes in favor and only five against and will officially take office on March 5.

Sulyok is known as a supporter of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. In 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled under his leadership to the detriment of the Central European University (CEU), which had been operating in Budapest for many years and had to relocate most of its operations to Vienna from 2019 due to harassment by Orbán's government.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his deputy Zsolt Semjén during the vote in parliament(Bild: AP)

Opposition left the chamber
This was one of the reasons why the election of the man described as a "party soldier in the service of Fidesz" was boycotted in parliament by the opposition parties, who are calling for the head of state to be elected directly. The MPs left the chamber before the vote.

Controversial pardon brought down predecessor
Sulyok succeeds Katalin Novák, who has resigned. As reported, she had pardoned a man last year who had been convicted of aiding and abetting the sexual abuse of minors in an orphanage. When the case became public, Novák and Orbán's government were confronted with massive protests.

Novák congratulated her successor on Facebook: "I say goodbye. Today marks the end of my service as head of state. I sincerely congratulate Tamás Sulyok and wish him every strength for the coming years."