BUDAPEST – The Hungarian parliament on Monday adopted the 16th amendment to the constitution, introducing retroactive term limits that would prevent former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from returning to office.

The amendment, passed by the ruling Tisza party’s supermajority with 135 votes in favour, limits prime ministers to two four-year terms. Crucially, the cap applies to all terms served since May 1990, disqualifying Orbán, who governed Hungary for a combined 20 years. The opposition Fidesz and KDNP parties voted against the measure, while the far-right Mi Hazánk abstained.

Tisza’s election victory in April ended 16 years of uninterrupted Fidesz rule and handed Prime Minister Péter Magyar the two-thirds majority required to amend Hungary’s constitution, paving the way for the overhaul.

Because constitutional amendments cannot be challenged on substantive grounds, President Tamás Sulyok has limited scope to prevent the measure from entering into force.

Reacting to the vote, Orbán dismissed the move. “The idea that anyone in Hungary – for example, me – could be kept away from the people is pretty funny,” Orbán told Index. “In the end, it’s the people who decide,” he added. “They’ve only been in power for a month. They shouldn’t be dreaming of eight years – that’s a fallacy.”

The amendment also dissolves the Sovereignty Protection Office and the 34 public interest asset management foundations (KEKVA), which currently control major state assets, including 21 universities. KEKVA holdings will be reclassified as national wealth, with the state reclaiming all founders’ rights.

The law mandates the immediate dissolution of 15 non-higher-education foundations, including the elite Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) and a foundation established by Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz.

During a heated parliamentary debate, Magyar taunted MCC board chair Balázs Orbán over the state’s takeover of Mathias Corvinus Collegium. The foundation’s assets include various media outlets and Libri, Hungary’s largest bookseller, which the organisation acquired in 2023.

“I understand it hurts you that the joke of a paper called Mandiner will now belong to the state, and that we will be its owners, we will have to determine the content published there,” Magyar said, referring to the conservative outlet, which has been running since 1999 and was acquired by MCC in 2025.

Despite the government’s pro-EU push, it remains firm on national borders. Interior Minister Gábor Pósfai confirmed at a committee hearing before the vote that Budapest would continue to reject the bloc’s migration pact.

“Hungary in its current form continues to reject the European Union’s migration pact, has not prepared a national implementation plan, and does not plan to submit one in the future,” Pósfai said, adding that Hungary would provide only voluntary bilateral technical assistance.

(cz)