File Photo: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the parliament in Budapest, Hungary. AP
Since the constitution's initial overhaul in 2011, a year after Orban returned to power -- which introduced references to God, Christianity and what the ruling party calls a traditional family -- the government has adopted further changes to enshrine an ultra-conservative notion of society in fundamental law.
AFP takes a look at the newest measures to be adopted, which range from LGBTQ rights to stripping citizenships of dual or multiple nationals:
- Pride ban -
In mid-March, parliament passed a bill aimed at banning Budapest's annual Pride parade on the basis that it infringes on Hungary's much-criticised 2021 "child protection" law, which prohibits the "promotion and display" of homosexuality to minors.
"We won't let woke ideology endanger our kids," Orban said in March as he defended the move.
"Normal people like us are under constant provocation, because people who live according to non-traditional sexual behaviour.... let off steam on the streets," Orban said, rejecting what he called pro-LGBTQ "propaganda" in films, books and at rallies.
But he said that the authorities were in a "difficult position" as Hungarian law did not outline if freedom of assembly took precedence over the "right of parents to raise children."
Monday's constitutional amendment declares that children's rights for their "proper physical, mental and moral development take precedence over all other fundamental rights," except the right to life.
According to the organisers of the Pride parade, scheduled for 28 June, the changes move the EU member country closer to authoritarianism. They also criticise that the amendment conflates being a member of the LGBTQ community with paedophilia and pornography, adding that it is an "attempt... to dehumanise them".
Man or woman
The amendment also enshrines in basic law that a person's sex "at birth" can only be either male or female.
The change will further clamp down on the rights of transgender people, who since 2020 have been unable to officially register a change of sex or name.
It echoes recent moves by Orban's ally, US President Donald Trump, who has stepped up efforts against "woke" policies including "transgender insanity" since returning to the White House in January.
In 2019, Hungary's constitution was changed to state that marriage is only possible between a man and a woman.
In 2020, another change enshrined that a mother could only be a woman and a father a man, in a move that has prevented same-sex couples from adopting children.
Citizenship
Another provision allows the government to temporarily strip Hungarian citizenship from dual or multiple nationals if they are deemed a national security threat.
A related piece of legislation -- to be voted on at a later date -- specifies that Hungarian citizenship can be suspended for a maximum of 10 years and those affected can be expelled from the country.
Nationals from other EU member states and a few other European countries would be exempt.
The measure is aimed at "speculators" abroad from financing alleged "bogus NGOs, bought politicians and the so-called independent media."
The amendment could target people like billionaire George Soros, a Hungarian-American who has funded civil society and who is a regular subject of conspiracy theories.
In recent years, Hungary has also amended its constitution in a bid to restrict the rights of refugees to request asylum and has renamed its provinces to mirror historical expressions.
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