András Baka Elected as Hungarys New President with 140 Votes of Support

Budapest, August 12: Hungary’s Parliament has elected András Baka, former Chief Justice, as the country’s new president. The 73-year-old Baka was the sole candidate in the election, receiving 140 votes in a secret ballot. He was nominated by the ruling Tisza Party, which holds the necessary two-thirds parliamentary majority to elect a president without opposition support.

The Tisza Party stated that Baka was chosen through a secret vote from a shortlist of three candidates. According to Hungarian law, a presidential candidate must have the backing of at least one-fifth of the MPs, which equates to 40 lawmakers.

As reported by the Xinhua news agency, Baka served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1991 to 2008. In 2009, he was elected as the President of the Supreme Court by the Hungarian Parliament. However, his term was cut short in 2011 due to judicial reforms introduced by then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government. Following this, Baka continued to serve as a judge in Hungary’s highest court.

The Tisza Party emphasized that Baka has consistently defended the rule of law, judicial independence, and the separation of powers. The term of former President Tamás Sulyok ended at midnight on July 20 under the 17th amendment of Hungary’s Fundamental Law.

Currently, Parliament Speaker Ágnes Forsthofer is acting as the interim president. Under the Fundamental Law, Parliament is required to elect a new president within 30 days.

Last week, a document published on Parliament’s website revealed that Tisza leader Andrea Buzdoso had requested that the presidential election be included in the agenda for a special parliamentary session scheduled for August 10-11. The Tisza Party also proposed holding the voting on August 11.

Prime Minister Péter Magyár stated on Wednesday that he had met with Baka. In a Facebook post, PM Magyár described Baka as one of Hungary’s most respected experts in European law and constitutional matters, noting that they have much to discuss. However, he did not provide further details on their conversation.