A former judge who challenged government reforms may soon return to the center of Hungary’s political system, with the vote days away.
Hungary’s ruling Tisza party has nominated András Baka, the country’s former Supreme Court president, as its candidate for president of the Republic.
According to Daily News Hungary, the parliamentary group made the decision by secret ballot on Saturday, selecting the 73-year-old legal scholar from among three candidates.
Since Tisza holds a two-thirds majority in parliament, the candidate is expected to be elected Hungary’s next president; the vote is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11.
It is noted that between 1991 and 2008, Baka served two terms as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He also worked as a visiting professor at several American universities and lectured in France and West Germany.
From 1990 to 1991, Baka was an independent MP affiliated with the Hungarian Democratic Forum (HDF), although he never joined the party.
In 2009, parliament elected him president of Hungary’s Supreme Court.
Baka became widely known after he was removed as president of the Supreme Court in 2011 for publicly criticizing reforms introduced by the government of then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which he believed threatened the independence of the judiciary.
Prospects and inauguration date
If parliament elects him on Tuesday, the new president will be able to take office on the eighth day after the results of the secret ballot are announced.
This means that András Baka could officially assume the post as early as August 19, one day before Saint Stephen’s Day, Hungary’s national holiday, on August 20.
In July, renowned chess player Judit Polgár declined an offer to become president of Hungary.