Hungarian parliamentarians voted on Monday June 15 by an overwhelming majority to include in the Constitution an eight-year limit for the exercise of the office of Prime Minister, preventing the return of the nationalist Viktor Orbán.
The text, which was one of the campaign promises of the pro-EU conservative Péter Magyar, to break with 16 years of power of Viktor Orbán, was adopted by Parliament thanks to the constitutional majority that the Tisza party has in Parliament. This amendment, which provides for capping the exercise of the function at eight years, consecutive or not, was voted by 135 votes for, 50 against and six abstentions.
“Unlimited power always ends, in any democratic system, by losing all sense of restraint,” justified the conservative Magyar, referring to his nationalist predecessor on May 26 when presenting the law. “From a certain moment, there is no longer any distinction between the interests of the State, those of the party and those of the leader and it is necessary to force all elected officials to think about their succession,” he added.
For the man who came to power in May after a large victory, this reform constitutes one of the central elements of his program aimed at “reestablishing the rule of law” by rebalancing institutions. In this context, term limits are presented by his government as a means of preventing any reproduction of lasting and centralized power.
Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, which now sits in opposition, opposed any limitations, arguing that they could restrict popular will. “The Orban law has been adopted. This was the most urgent question…” quipped Viktor Orbán on Facebook. “If I am needed, I will be there,” added the man who was re-elected this weekend as head of Fidesz. This is the 16th amendment to the Basic Law in Hungary since its adoption in 2011.
Some countries around the world limit the terms of office of their highest leaders, but this generally applies to their powerful presidents. The Hungarian president, whose role is largely ceremonial, can already only be re-elected once for a second five-year term.
The new law does not completely rule out a return of Viktor Orbán to power, since it could be revoked in the future by a new amendment to the Constitution, requiring a two-thirds qualified majority in Parliament. Tisza also deleted a sentence which referred to an “independent body responsible for ensuring the safeguarding” of the country’s identity and its Christian culture.
And this is so that a law intended to abolish, by the end of the month, the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty is not unconstitutional. This controversial agency wanted by Viktor Orbán in 2024 had accused the media and NGOs of serving foreign interests.
But it mainly targeted critics of Viktor Orbán, accusing independent media and NGOs like Transparency International of serving foreign interests. The agency has not published any official report since Péter Magyar’s election victory on April 12. Parliament must vote on a bill providing for its dissolution at the end of June.
