Hungary parliament elects former supreme court head Andras Baka as president

Hungary’s parliament elected Andras Baka, a ​former head of the Supreme Court, ⁠as the country’s next president ⁠on Tuesday, a symbolic step in Prime Minister ‌Peter ⁠Magyar’s effort to dismantle former premier Viktor Orban’s bastions ​of power.

Baka ​was ‌elected ​to the largely ceremonial role ⁠with the votes of ​the governing ​center-right Tisza ⁠party. Members of ⁠the opposition ‌Fidesz party did ‌not ‌take ​part ​in the election.

In a speech after taking the oath of office, Baka criticised the previous government, saying that during Orban’s rule, “one party captured the state”, branches of power were not separate and there was no functioning system of checks and balances.

However, he said that the task of building a new future for Hungary “demands both justice and self-restraint” and said that the president’s role was to represent citizens who hold differing views.