Hungary's Tisza Party nominates Orbán critic András Baka as president

Published Aug 8, 02:07 PM UTC

Hungary's new ruling party, Tisza, has nominated former supreme court judge András Baka as the next state president, following the decline of chess grandmaster Judit Polgár. Baka, 73, is a known critic of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and was removed as supreme court judge in 2011 after criticizing the Orbán government's judicial reforms. Prime Minister Péter Magyar praised Baka's commitment to the rule of law and judicial independence. The election in parliament is expected to be a formality as Tisza holds a two-thirds majority. Baka will replace Tamás Sulyok, whom Magyar had called a 'puppet of the Orbán government.' The ousted Fidesz party plans to boycott the vote.

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