Several thousand people gathered outside Hungary's presidential offices in Budapest on July 9, 2026, to oppose the government's plan to end President Tamás Sulyok's term through a constitutional amendment. Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán promoted the “Stop Tyranny” demonstration, which his Fidesz party organized, but did not attend.
The protest at Sándor Palace brought supporters of the former government into direct opposition with Prime Minister Péter Magyar's new centre-right administration. Magyar defeated Orbán decisively in April, ending 16 years of his rule, and took office in May with a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
Magyar has described the removal of Orbán-era appointees and institutional leaders as an effort to dismantle a corrupt, authoritarian system. The proposed amendment, scheduled for a vote the following week, would terminate Sulyok's presidency, impose limits on lawmakers' terms, change the judiciary and establish an authority to investigate alleged financial abuses under Orbán.
Orbán and Fidesz characterized the measure as an attack on the rule of law and a step toward dictatorship. Demonstrator Krisztina Nemerkényi said her objection concerned the integrity of the presidential office rather than Sulyok personally.
Magyar argued that Sulyok failed to use his position to resist antidemocratic measures during Orbán's government. He repeatedly promised Sulyok's removal during the election campaign and cited the new government's supermajority as authority to follow through.
Hungary's presidency is mainly ceremonial, but the office is not powerless. The president signs legislation and may refer bills passed by Parliament to the Constitutional Court. Supporters of Magyar's administration worry that Sulyok, appointed during the Orbán era, could use that authority to obstruct its program.
Fidesz lawmaker János Pócs defended his party's record at the rally. Fidesz made 15 amendments to the constitution it wrote in 2011, but Pócs said those changes served the country's interests rather than dictatorship. Fidesz has struggled politically since its April defeat.
The new government has already moved against other parts of Orbán's institutional legacy. It suspended the news service of public television and radio, which Magyar called party propaganda, introduced an eight-year limit for prime ministers and replaced national security and intelligence chiefs who served under Orbán.
It also secured the release of 16.4 billion euros, about $19 billion, in previously blocked European Union funds after adopting reforms intended to reverse democratic backsliding.
The dispute set two sharply opposed claims of democratic legitimacy against each other: Fidesz supporters defended continuity and constitutional office, while Magyar's government pointed to its election mandate and promised institutional changes. Parliament's vote, rather than the street demonstration, would determine Sulyok's immediate position.
