Hungarian opposition party Tisza nominates former Supreme Court president for president

The Hungarian opposition party Tisza has put forward a candidate for the presidency: Andras Baka, a 73-year-old lawyer and former president of the Supreme Court. The nomination was decided through a secret ballot during a party meeting on Saturday.

Baka's previous tenure as president of the Supreme Court ended in January 2012. His removal came after constitutional amendments enacted by the government of Viktor Orbán, which also led to the establishment of a new institution, Kúria, effectively replacing the Supreme Court. New regulations required Kúria judges to have at least five years of judicial experience in Hungary, a condition that automatically excluded Baka, who had spent much of his career as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights.

Tisza proposed on Wednesday that the National Assembly vote on the new president on Tuesday. The election has been officially approved by Aniko Hallerne Nagy, the deputy speaker of parliament, who is temporarily fulfilling the duties of the speaker. The presidential election requires a two-thirds majority of parliament members, and Tisza holds 141 out of 199 seats.

According to the constitution, a new president must be elected within 30 days of the previous president's mandate expiring, which occurred on July 20. The National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment on July 13, which included provisions for the removal of the president elected with Fidesz's votes. This amendment was signed by President Tamas Sulyok himself, and the speaker of parliament, Agnes Forsthoffer, has temporarily assumed presidential duties.

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Nowe przepisy wprowadziły m.in. wymóg, by sędziowie Kurii mieli co najmniej pięcioletni staż pracy na stanowisku sędziego na Węgrzech. Skutkowało to automatycznym wykluczeniem Baki, który przez większą część kariery zawodowej pełnił funkcję sędziego Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka.