President Sulyok Signs Constitutional Amendment Ending His Own Term; Forsthoffer Becomes Interim Head of State

President Tamás Sulyok signed the 17th constitutional amendment into law on July 18 rather than refer the bill — passed 139–6 on July 13 — to the Constitutional Court. In a video address, Sulyok called the move an abuse of political power that strips away a check on the government but said he was signing it to fulfil his constitutional obligations. His term formally ended at midnight on July 20; National Assembly Speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer, a Tisza MP, assumed the powers of interim head of state from that date under the Fundamental Law's succession provisions. Parliament is required to elect Sulyok's permanent successor, with the vote scheduled for August 11.