Hungary’s parliament elects Andras Baka as new president
The TISZA party’s constitutional majority secured Baka’s appointment with 140 votes, while the opposition Fidesz party boycotted the proceedings.
Hungary’s parliament has overwhelmingly confirmed Andras Baka, the former head of the Supreme Court, as the country’s next president. The appointment replaces Tamas Sulyok, whose term was shortened via a constitutional amendment initiated by new Prime Minister Peter Magyar to remove an ally of former premier Viktor Orban.
The vote resulted in 140 votes in favour and six against, with Orban’s Fidesz party boycotting the proceedings. Baka, a critic of the previous administration, was elected with the support of Magyar’s TISZA party, which holds a constitutional majority in the chamber.
Baka, 73, brings extensive international judicial experience to the largely ceremonial role. He served as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights for nearly 20 years before becoming president of Hungary’s Supreme Court in 2009. He was removed from that position in December 2011, three years before his term was due to expire, following criticism of government reforms.
Magyar described Baka’s career as an example of commitment to democratic rule of law. The new prime minister used his two-thirds majority to amend the constitution, arguing it was necessary to pursue the system change promised during the TISZA party’s landslide victory in the April general elections.
Fidesz and their nationalist KDNP allies described the removal of Sulyok as tyrannical and illegitimate. Some rights watchdogs have also drawn parallels between the constitutional amendment and the illiberal practices of the Orban era, though Baka himself has not criticised the specific mechanism used to oust his predecessor.
Speaking in parliament, Baka struck a conciliatory tone, stating that the new government cannot build Hungary on revenge. He vowed to encourage public debate and impartiality, insisting that constitution-making must never again become the exclusive project of a single political force.
Prior to Baka’s selection, Magyar briefly considered chess grandmaster Judit Polgar for the role. Polgar declined, stating she did not feel she had the strength to unite a divided nation, but pledged to support a new, independent president.
