Hungary's ruling Tisza party nominates former judge Andras Baka for president

Published Aug 8, 04:05 PM UTC

Hungary's ruling Tisza party, led by pro-EU Prime Minister Peter Magyar, has nominated former supreme court judge Andras Baka as its candidate for the largely ceremonial role of president. Baka was removed from the supreme court in 2012 after criticizing a government move to lower the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 62, which he called a judicial purge. The EU and US deemed the age-limit reduction illegal, and the European Court of Human Rights later ruled in Baka's favor. Parliament will vote on Tuesday to replace Tamas Sulyok, an Orban ally who stepped down in July after a constitutional amendment truncated his term. Baka was chosen by secret ballot from a shortlist of 10 candidates, after chess legend Judit Polgar declined the offer.