Prominent Orbán critic András Baka becomes Hungary’s President

Former Supreme Court president András Baka is set to be elected Hungary’s next president today, with the governing Tisza party holding the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to secure his election without opposition support.

Baka, 73, was nominated for the largely ceremonial post by Tisza’s parliamentary group after a secret ballot on Saturday. Prime Minister Péter Magyar said MPs were unanimous in considering him the best candidate to restore the authority of the presidency, unite the nation and provide the necessary balance to the parliamentary majority.

The parliamentary vote is due to begin at 14:00 local time.

Hungary’s governing Tisza party has nominated Baka in a move that puts a former target of Viktor Orbán’s government at the centre of Hungary’s planned constitutional reset. The Tisza parliamentary group selected Baka in a secret ballot, which Magyar described as one of the party’s most important decisions so far.

“The Tisza faction has made one of its most important decisions so far by secret ballot: we will nominate András Baka, the former President of the Supreme Court, as President of the Republic of Hungary,” the governing party said in a statement.

Magyar said Tisza MPs were unanimous in considering Baka the best candidate to restore the authority of the presidency, unite the nation and provide the necessary balance to the parliamentary majority.

The party also highlighted Baka’s professional independence and decades of experience, saying these qualities were particularly important as Hungary prepares to establish a new constitutional order.

A former target of Orbán’s government

As president of Hungary’s Supreme Court, heBaka publicly and forcefully opposed the 2011–2012 judicial reforms that reduced judicial independence (including the abrupt lowering of judges’ retirement age), prompting Orbán’s government to remove him from office three years before the end of his term – a move the European Court of Human Rights later ruled was unlawful and retaliatory.

Before taking the post, Baka had served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The European Court of Human Rights later ruled against Hungary over Baka’s removal. In 2014, the court found that his dismissal was linked to his criticism of government reforms and that his removal violated democratic freedoms. The Grand Chamber subsequently ruled in 2016 that Hungary had violated Baka’s rights to a fair trial and freedom of expression.

Baka later served as president of the Council of the Curia before retiring in 2019.

Tisza promises a constitutional reset

Magyar’s victory in April’s parliamentary elections ended 16 years of Orbán’s rule.

The new prime minister has promised to restore democratic standards and has called on a number of senior officials appointed or elected during Fidesz rule to step down.

The departure of former president Tamás Sulyok was among Magyar’s key objectives. Magyar described Sulyok as an ‘Orbán puppet’.

Sulyok signed the constitutional amendment adopted by the new parliamentary majority, which ended his presidential mandate on 20 July.

Péter Magyar ends President Tamás Sulyok’s mandate via constitutional amendment

Under the amendment, the new president will remain in office until a new constitution enters into force or for a maximum of five years.

Hungary’s president is largely a ceremonial figure under the current constitution, with limited powers that include vetoing legislation or requesting its reconsideration.

Fidesz calls the election illegitimate

Fidesz, now in opposition, has said it will not take part in the presidential election, accusing Tisza of authoritarian behaviour.

János Boka, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, said Baka would become a ‘puppet’ of the governing parliamentary majority. He also argued that Tisza had ended Sulyok’s mandate arbitrarily and illegitimately, making the election of a new president ‘equally illegitimate’.

Fidesz therefore plans to boycott the process.

The Our Homeland Movement has put forward its own candidate, energy lawyer Máté Tóth.

With Tisza controlling the necessary two-thirds majority, however, the outcome of the vote is not expected to depend on opposition participation.

Baka’s views on Hungary’s transformation

Baka has already publicly discussed the scale of the political change brought about by Tisza’s election victory.

In an interview with 24.hu after the April election, he described the party’s two-thirds majority as a ‘historic situation’. Baka argued that such a majority was necessary to fundamentally transform what he described as an autocratic system, while also warning that a two-thirds majority carries risks.

He said he would begin the transformation with the Constitutional Court and considered the adoption of a new constitution necessary.

Baka also said the election result reflected a desire to end the system that had existed for 16 years, remove the atmosphere of fear, make the state work in the interests of free citizens and strengthen Hungary’s integration into Europe.

His nomination followed several weeks of consultations by Magyar and the prime minister’s office with figures from Hungary’s scientific, cultural and public life.

Tisza said it had considered 10 potential candidates before narrowing the field to three, from which the parliamentary group selected Baka by secret ballot.

One of the other names discussed publicly was chess grandmaster Judit Polgár. After prominent figures recommended her for the presidency, Magyar said he would personally ask whether she was willing to take the position. The Tisza faction subsequently supported her, but Polgár declined the offer.

Magyar’s rushed presidential gamble: apology after Polgár rejects nomination

Sources: 24.hu, MTI, BGNES

Caption: Péter Magyar posted this photo with Dr. András Baka and Andrea Anna Bujdosó, a key figure in TISZA and leader of its parliamentary faction, to make a major announcement: the party has officially nominated Dr. Baka for President of the Republic. Magyar shared that Dr. Baka accepted the call to serve, stating he is ‘ready to work for the unity of the Hungarian nation and for a democratic, European Hungary.