Hungary鈥檚 Parliament taps Andr谩s Baka as president as part of Orb谩n-era purge

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Parliament elected former Supreme Court chief justice Andr谩s Baka as president on Tuesday as the country’s new government dismantles power structures left behind by former Prime Minister .

Lawmakers with the governing Tisza party elected Baka in a secret ballot with 140 votes for and six votes against with no abstentions, while Orb谩n’s far-right Fidesz party boycotted the vote.

Baka is expected to be sworn in on Aug. 19. The role of president in Hungary is largely ceremonial, though the president does have the power to send bills back to lawmakers or to the Constitutional Court for review.

Incoming president says change should not include revenge

Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s government has argued that the purge of officials appointed during Orb谩n’s time in office is necessary to restore democratic norms and institutional integrity that were eroded during his tenure.

Orb谩n and Fidesz have of 鈥渢yrannical鈥� policies, which Magyar and Tisza deny.

In comments in Parliament following his election, Baka criticized the performance of Orb谩n’s four successive governments and said one of the biggest challenges facing Hungary was the deep social and political polarization during the former leader’s 16 years in power.

Baka added that while past legal and financial abuses must be investigated and prosecuted and democratic institutions restored, political change in Hungary should not come through 鈥渞evenge.鈥�

鈥淭his country cannot build a common future while its citizens see each other as enemies,鈥� he said. 鈥淧olitical change should not mean that from now on people will have to be afraid, be silent, or feel like outsiders in their own country.鈥�

First, the ruling party had to unseat the previous president

Since taking office in May, Magyar鈥檚 administration has gone to work dismantling what he calls Orb谩n鈥檚鈥渕afia鈥� by removing numerous political appointees and heads of institutions viewed as having facilitated Orb谩n鈥檚 autocratic government.

The new government has suspended the news service of Hungary鈥檚 public television and radio 鈥� which Magyar has argued for Orb谩n鈥檚 party 鈥� and closed Hungary鈥檚 Sovereignty Protection Office, an authority seen by Orb谩n鈥檚 opponents as a tool for intimidating critics and silencing independent media.

It has also made judicial reforms, set up an office aimed at under the Orb谩n government and imposed a 12-year term limit on lawmakers and an 8-year limit for prime ministers.

Baka’s election came after weeks of wrangling by Tisza to oust Orb谩n-era president Tam谩s Sulyok, who was by Orb谩n’s party in 2024.

Magyar, who has referred to Sulyok as 鈥淥rb谩n’s puppet,鈥� had called on the former president to resign after he and Tisza won a in April. After Sulyok refused, Tisza ending his term, which Sulyok reluctantly in July.

Baka had been removed as chief justice under Orb谩n

Baka, 74, served from 1991 to 2008 on the European Court of Human Rights. He was Supreme Court chief justice from 2009 to 2011 but was removed by Orb谩n’s government three years before the end of his term.

Baka brought his removal before the European Court of Human Rights, which found in 2014 that Orb谩n’s government had violated his rights and that his dismissal was linked to his criticism of the government’s judicial reforms.

He has been a visiting professor or lecturer at numerous U.S. universities including the University of Virginia, the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.

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