Hungary elects judge Andras Baka as president
Xinhua · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago1 MIN
Summary
Hungary’s parliament on Tuesday elected former Supreme Court chief Andras Baka as the country’s new president. The vote installs a former top judge whose own judicial mandate was cut short during reforms under Viktor Orban, and comes after the previous head of state was removed as Prime Minister Peter Magyar pushes institutional changes.
Key Points
- Baka, 73, was the only candidate and won 140 votes in a secret ballot in parliament on Tuesday in Budapest.
- The ruling Tisza party nominated Baka on Saturday and used its two-thirds parliamentary majority to secure his election without opposition backing.
- Baka served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1991 to 2008, before becoming Hungary’s Supreme Court president in 2009.
- His six-year term as Supreme Court president was cut short at the end of 2011 after judicial reforms introduced under Orban’s government
- The presidency became vacant after Tamas Sulyok, an Orban ally, was removed last month through a constitutional amendment backed by Magyar’s reform agenda
Why It Matters
Baka’s election places an Orban critic in Hungary’s largely ceremonial presidency at a time when Magyar says the country must return to rule-of-law and constitutional governance. For Hong Kong readers tracking Europe, the change offers a fresh sign of how post-election governments can try to unwind a predecessor’s influence over courts and other state institutions