Incoming Prime Minister Peter Magyar called on the president, Tamas Sulyok, to resign after the new government is formed, saying otherwise the new majority would seek his removal, Telex.hu reported on April 15.  According to Magyar's account, President Sulyok had told him that he, too, wished to preserve the rule of law and would "consider" his arguments for resignation.

The meeting unwound after Sulyok invited leaders of the Tisza Party, Fidesz and radical-right-wing Our Homeland to outline the parliamentary timeline for the coming weeks. Sulyok formally invited the leader of the Tisza Party to form a government.

Formal talks on forming the new government would take place at the end of the week and the inaugural session is expected in early May, but no later than 30 days after the final results are validated.

This is expected to come on April 18, when votes casts at consulates are counted. The ballots of those voting outside their constituencies will also be added to the results of the respective electoral districts, which according to analysts could still swing mandates in favour of Tisza due to the tight lead there.

After the meeting, Magyar said he had asked Hungary's head of state to preserve what is left of Hungary's rule of law and democracy by voluntarily resigning.

Hungarians voted not just for a change of government but a regime change, and Sulyok was "unworthy and unfit in the eyes of the Hungarian people to embody national unity, uphold the law or serve as a moral compass and role model", citing several high-profile cases where the president remained silent, which included the abuse of children at foster homes, the financial scandal surrounding the foundations of the central bank, and how the executive had weaponised intelligence services for partisan ends against the Tisza Party.

"I told him that if he did not resign voluntarily, we would use the mandate given to us by voters to remove him and every other puppet appointed by the Orban regime from office through constitutional amendments and necessary legal changes."

Sulyok took office in March 2024, after the resignation of Katalin Novák, who was forced to step down after Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed off on a pardon for the deputy head of the Bicske youth home, who covered up the paedophilic abuse carried out by the head of the institution. One of the largest public scandals in Hungary's modern history, and the public indignation that followed led to the emergence of Peter Magyar in public life, who just two months later founded his Tisza Party.

Magyar said the talks were polite and non-personal, with the president indicating he would consider the points raised. 

They also discussed possible constitutional changes to strengthen the presidency, that would possibly include direct elections, while Magyar backed stronger checks on prime ministerial power. 

Hungary's president has a rather ceremonial role, with limited executive powers mainly focused on representing the state, signing legislation, and overseeing certain constitutional functions. Since the regime change, there has been no instance of a president being removed from office.

The meeting in the President's Office, with a direct view of the prime minister's office, produced one surreal moment. Magyar posted a Facebook photo showing him waving to Orban from the balcony of Sandor Palace, before the outgoing prime minister was due for his meeting with Sulyok.

The outgoing prime minister entered the president's office from the back door, not from the front, to avoid meeting the press. Hungary's veteran leader did not post anything about the talks, which according to the short statement from the president's office focused on the first tasks for the next period.

Our Homeland Movement (Mi Hazank) has launched a legal challenge to the election outcome, alleging its campaign was hindered on Facebook, party leader Lászlo Toroczkai said after meeting. The radical right-wing party won 5.7% of the vote, securing six seats in the 199-member parliament.

Toroczkai urged the winning party to "restore constitutional order" by revising what he described as a flawed and partisan constitution, while adding that he opposes removing the president before the end of his term.

Magyar made headline news on April 15 with his first appearance in state media since September 2024 in the early hours, where he was questioned about his programmes and his comments  shaking up the media landscape. Magyar pledged to restore free and open press in public media in the campaing trail and this promise is a key to unlocking frozen EU funds

Magyar said that one of his first steps after forming a government would be suspending the "propaganda media's" news service, insisting it had "inflicted enormous damage on Hungarians"  The exchanges quickly became very tense and confrontational, with Magyar and the interviewers frequently interrupting each other, and the opposition leader was also seen losing his composure at times.

Addressing Fidesz voters, Magyar stressed that 1mn pensioners were living below the subsistence level, 400,000 children were in deep poverty and hundreds were freezing to death in their own homes, that Orban's childhood friend, seen as his proxy "Lorinc Meszaros became five times richer in a decade than the British royal family in 400 years", and that the state burns HUF160bn (€440mn) each year just on the budget of the state media conglomerate MTVA, which merged the operations of state radio, television and the Hungarian news agency MTI.

In a circular sent to MTVA news directors, some 100 employees of MTI on April 15 called for editorial independence, or restoring their right to edit and publish stories without external approval.

MTI journalists have openly confirmed what had already been reported: that content originating from state secretary level or above must be automatically forwarded for approval to the office of Antal Rogan, who oversees government communications as well as intelligence operations. Foreign policy topics such as gender issues, Ukraine, and corporate stories of government-linked companies such as 4iG, Opus, and MBH Bank also require higher-level approval.

The demand followed a day of heightened tensions after Peter Magyar gave interviews to public media outlets and was later applauded by some staff members inside the building.

MTVA news director Zsolt Nemeth, nicknamed "Pitbull", told an early afternoon staff meeting that editorial operations would remain unchanged until a change of government, and that employees unable to accept the situation should take leave or work in a reduced capacity.

Peter Magyar also reacted to the latest developments, calling on management not to take disciplinary action against employees who sign the circular.

He thanked staff for their reception and wished public media employees strength in the coming weeks until what he called the removal of "political commissars". The new government's first measures would include the immediate suspension of public media news services until conditions for impartial and objective reporting are restored, he added.