Novak has received extensive criticism after she in April 2023 pardoned a man who was convicted of covering up a series of abuses against children. Protesters in front of the president’s office in Budapest on February 9, 2024. Photo: Ferenc ISZA / AFP The abuses were committed at a publicly run orphanage. There have been a number of major protests against Novak in recent days, after the pardon became known. BUDAPEST: There have been several demonstrations in the capital where demonstrators have demanded that the president resign. Photo: Bernadett Szabo / Reuters – I have made a mistake, I apologize and I am resigning as president, Novak said during a press conference on Saturday. This is written by the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Hírlap. Novak became the country’s first female president when she was elected two years ago. She is a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and has been vice president in the ruling Fidesz party. The political scandal is described as unprecedented for Orban’s nationalist government. The outgoing president is a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban Photo: Denes Erdos / AP Abuse of at least ten children The opposition has demanded that Novak resign as a result of the revelation and launched an investigation into her in the national assembly. On Thursday, Orban, who has been in power since 2010, intervened himself. He did so by proposing a constitutional amendment that would ban pardons for those convicted of crimes against children. The man Novak pardoned was sentenced to several years in prison in 2018 for having pressured victims to withdraw their allegations of sexual abuse by the director of the child protection institution. The director himself was sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing at least ten children between 2004 and 2016. The office of president in Hungary is largely ceremonial, but the president can, among other things, veto bills or send bills for review by the Constitutional Court.
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Hungary’s president resigns – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
