Hungary's parliament on Monday approved a constitutional amendment that prevents former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from returning to office, cementing a major political shift months after the longtime nationalist leader was voted out of power.
The proposal from new Prime Minister Péter Magyar's camp and was backed by 135 lawmakers, with 50 voting against and 6 abstaining, according to the parliament's website.
The amendment says no one may hold the top government post if they have already held it for a total of at least eight years.
Orbán has spent about 20 years as prime minister across two terms, governing from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2010 to 2026.
The new rule also applies to Magyar. It limits him to a maximum of two full legislative terms in office, meaning he could be re-elected once if no early elections are held.
Limiting a prime minister's term of office is unusual in modern democracies.
During Magyar's campaign and that of his conservative Tisza party, however, it was one of the central election promises. In the parliamentary election on April 12, Tisza secured a clear victory over Orbán's Fidesz party.
In the new parliament, Tisza holds a comfortable two-thirds majority, which it used for the first time on Monday to amend the constitution drafted under Orbán 16 years ago and repeatedly changed during his time in power.
