Judge sacked by Orbán elected Hungary's new president

Hungary's parliament has elected 73-year-old judge and former Supreme Court chief András Baka as head of state, with 140 votes in favour and six against. All 51 MPs from Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party walked out of the chamber before the vote in protest at the removal of their preferred candidate, Tamás Sulyok, from the presidency the previous month.

While the Hungarian presidency is largely a figurehead role, Baka will be tasked with overseeing Prime Minister Péter Magyar's efforts to dismantle the political and economic structures built under Orbán, as well as the drafting of a new constitution to replace the one Orbán introduced in 2011. In his address to parliament, Baka said the new Hungary should not be built on revenge, noting that while much of society feels a sense of liberation, others feel disappointment and uncertainty — something he called natural in a democracy.

Notably, it was the Fidesz government that removed Baka from the Supreme Court presidency in 2011 after he tried to resist its undermining of judicial independence. Since taking office in May, Magyar's government has passed 27 laws and two constitutional amendments, cancelling the states of emergency Orbán used to rule by decree, abolishing the Sovereignty Protection Office, and creating a new agency to investigate alleged theft of state funds. Term limits were also introduced for the prime minister and MPs, and the Constitutional Court's power to review legislation was restored.

Baka, who spent 17 years as Hungary's judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, has said he does not consider himself a political figure, though he has publicly opposed the new limits on MPs' terms, calling them an infringement on voters' rights. His presidency is expected to be transitional, lasting until a new constitution takes effect or for a maximum of five years.