BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Opponents of the Hungarian government's efforts to oust the country's president gathered for a protest in the capital Budapest on Thursday after being called to action by the former autocratic prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
The protest drew several thousand people to the presidential offices at the opulent Sándor Palace in Budapest's Castle District, where demonstrators spoke out in defense of President Tamás Sulyok, whom the new center-right government has vowed to remove from office with a constitutional amendment.
READ MORE: Hungarian Prime Minister Magyar to amend constitution to remove President Sulyok
After defeating Orbán in a blowout election in April, bringing an end to his 16 years in power, Hungary's new pro-European prime minister, Péter Magyar, has taken action to dismantle what he calls Orbán's "mafia" by removing numerous political appointees and heads of institutions viewed as having facilitated Orbán's autocratic regime.
The constitutional amendment, set to go to a vote next week, would end Sulyok's term, as well as set term limits for members of parliament, implement reforms to the judiciary and create a new authority tasked with uncovering alleged financial abuses by Orbán's government.
