Former Supreme Court chief Andras Baka elected as Hungary’s new president

Hungary’s parliament on Tuesday elected former Supreme Court chief Andras Baka as the country’s new president. Baka, 73, the sole candidate in the election, received 140 votes in a secret ballot.

He was nominated by the ruling Tisza party, which holds the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to elect the president without opposition support. Baka will officially take office on Aug 19. In his speech, Baka said his role as president would be to represent both majority and minority views, acknowledge political differences rather than imposing artificial unity, and safeguard constitutional checks and balances.