Andras Baka, a robust advocate for judicial independence, turns into Tisza’s decide for Hungary’s subsequent president.
Printed On 9 Aug 2026
Hungary’s governing Tisza occasion has nominated Andras Baka, a former Supreme Courtroom chief faraway from his submit by Viktor Orban’s authorities in 2012, as its candidate for the nation’s presidency.
The nomination, introduced Saturday by Prime Minister Peter Magyar, marks the most recent step in Tisza’s effort to dismantle Orban’s affect over state establishments for the reason that occasion’s landslide election victory in April ended his 16-year rule.
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The choice to appoint Baka for the presidency comes weeks after Tisza used a constitutional modification to remove Orban-era President Tamas Sulyok from workplace.
On Tuesday, Baka, 73, is predicted to be elected by parliament, the place Tisza holds a constitutional majority.
Magyar wrote on Fb that the nomination, made by secret poll throughout the occasion’s parliamentary group, was “considered one of its most essential choices to date”.
Tisza lawmakers stated Baka had at all times “connected paramount significance to the precept of separation of powers, persistently standing up for the rule of regulation and judicial independence”, including that his expertise represented “a major asset” because the occasion lays “the foundations for Hungary’s new constitutional order”.
Fidesz, the occasion now in opposition, stated it will boycott the vote, accusing Tisza of authoritarian ways – allegations it denies.
Baka served two phrases as a decide on the European Courtroom of Human Rights in Strasbourg earlier than being elected head of Hungary’s Supreme Courtroom in 2009.
He was eliminated two years later after publicly criticising Orban’s authorities reforms, which he stated threatened judicial independence. The European court docket later dominated that his dismissal had violated his rights to a good trial and freedom of expression, a judgement the Council of Europe stated Hungary failed to totally implement.
Hungary’s presidency carries largely ceremonial powers, with restricted authority to veto or refer laws, although the nomination is being handled as a closely symbolic transfer.
