Hungary parliament approves Orban-critic judge as president

Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday approved former supreme court chief Andras Baka, a critic of Viktor Orban who was fired during the ex-premier’s time in power, as the country’s next head of state.

The post became vacant following the contested removal last month of the previous president, an Orban ally, as pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar pushes to loosen his predecessor’s lingering hold over state institutions.

Parliament, where the ruling Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority, elected Baka – who served 17 years as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) – with 140 votes in favour and six votes against.

Tisza on Saturday nominated Baka, 73, for the largely ceremonial role.

Magyar said Baka’s life served “as an example of commitment to the democratic rule of law and constitutional principles” as the central European country needs to be “guided back onto the path of the rule of law and constitutional governance”.

The previous president, Tamas Sulyok, saw his mandate cut short by a constitutional amendment, adopted as part of Magyar’s reform push.