Hungary Elects Andras Baka As President In Major Break From Orban Era

Hungary’s Parliament has elected former Supreme Court chief justice Andras Baka as president, giving Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s government another key figure as it works to undo the political system built during Viktor Orban’s 16 years in power.

Baka, 73, was the only candidate and won 140 votes in a secret ballot, with six lawmakers voting against him. Orban’s Fidesz party, which has 52 seats, boycotted the vote and said the process was illegitimate. Baka is due to formally take office on August 19.

The Hungarian presidency is mostly ceremonial. However, the president can send laws back to Parliament or ask the Constitutional Court to review them. Baka’s election carries added weight because he was removed as Supreme Court chief by Orban’s government in 2011.

In his speech, Baka called for unity and the rule of law. He said Hungary must investigate past legal and financial abuses, but warned that political change should not become revenge. He also said the country cannot build a common future if citizens see one another as enemies.

Baka has a long history in European law. He served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1991 to 2008. He later led Hungary’s Supreme Court. After his removal, he took his case to the European court, which ruled in 2014 that Hungary had violated his rights. The ruling also linked his dismissal to his criticism of judicial reforms.

His election follows the removal of former President Tamas Sulyok, who was backed by Fidesz. Magyar had called Sulyok an Orban ally. His term was cut short after Parliament passed a constitutional amendment, which Sulyok signed in July.

Magyar’s Tisza Party won 141 of Parliament’s 199 seats in April, giving it the two thirds majority needed for major legal changes. Since taking power, the government has moved against several Orban era officials and institutions. It has also pushed media changes, created an anti corruption task force and set an eight year limit for prime ministers.

Fidesz has accused Magyar of using the same concentration of power he once criticised. Tisza rejects that charge and says its reforms are needed to restore democratic checks and balances.