Budapest, August 12: Hungary’s parliament has elected András Baka, the former chief justice of the Supreme Court, as the country’s new president. The 73-year-old Baka was the sole candidate in the election and received 140 votes in a secret ballot. He was nominated by the ruling Fidesz party, which holds the necessary two-thirds parliamentary majority to elect a president without opposition support.
The Fidesz 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 support of at least one-fifth of the MPs, which equates to 40 members.
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 appointed as the president of Hungary’s Supreme Court by the parliament. His term was cut short in 2011 due to judicial reforms introduced by then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government. Following this, Baka continued to serve as a judge in Hungary’s top court.
Fidesz noted that Baka has consistently defended the rule of law, judicial independence, and the separation of powers. The term of former president László Sólyom ended at midnight on July 20, under the 17th amendment of Hungary’s Fundamental Law. Currently, the Speaker of Parliament, Ágnes Varga, is serving as the acting president. Under the Fundamental Law, parliament is required to elect a new president within 30 days.
Last week, a document published on the parliament’s website revealed that Fidesz leader Andrea Bocskor had appealed to include the presidential election in the agenda of a special parliamentary session scheduled for August 10-11. Fidesz also proposed holding the voting on August 11.
Prime Minister Péter Szijjártó stated on Wednesday that he had met with Baka. In a Facebook post, Szijjártó described Baka as one of Hungary’s most respected experts on European law and constitutional matters, indicating that they had much to discuss. However, he did not provide further details regarding their meeting.
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