Hungarian President Katalin Novák resigned following public outcry over her pardon of a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sex abuse case.
Novák, 46, announced today in a televised message that he will step down as President of the Republic, a post he has held since 2022.
Novák’s decision comes after it was revealed that he had issued a ‘pardon order’ for a man convicted in April 2023 of concealing a series of sexual abuses against children in a state-owned children’s home. Hungarian public opinion has been debating this pardon for more than a week.
“I issued an amnesty that caused surprise and unrest in many people. I made a mistake,” President Novák said.
Opposition parties in Hungary had demanded Novák’s resignation this week.
