Thousands of protesters gathered outside Budapest's Sándor Palace on Thursday in a rally organised by Fidesz against the removal of President Tamás Sulyok, the opposition party mobilising under the slogan "Stop the tyranny." The demonstration was held under the banner of Fidesz, the party of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who did not attend.
Former President János Áder told the crowd that the proposed constitutional amendments would collapse the rule of law and illegally remove Sulyok from office. A Fidesz lawmaker accused the governing Tisza Party of violating the constitution. Prime Minister Péter Magyar, speaking from the NATO summit in Ankara, dismissed the protest as absurd.
Magyar submitted the constitutional amendment on 4 July, seeking to terminate Sulyok's mandate and create a body to recover funds diverted by oligarchs close to Orbán's government. Magyar has warned that impeachment proceedings will follow if Sulyok refuses to sign. The European Commission has meanwhile unlocked €16.4 billion in funds previously frozen over democratic backsliding under Orbán.