Hungarian Parliament Elects Former Judge András Baka as President
9 sources across 7 countries
Who reported this
- The Guardian
- Reuters
- CNN
- Bloomberg
- Le Monde
- Der Spiegel
- South China Morning Post
- Telex
- El Pais
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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The Hungarian Parliament elected András Baka, a former head of the Supreme Court and critic of Viktor Orbán, as the country's new president on Tuesday. Baka received 140 votes in favor and six against, with no abstentions. The election was driven by the ruling pro European Tisza party, led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, which holds a two thirds majority in Parliament. Baka is scheduled to officially take office on August 19. The role of the president in Hungary is described by multiple sources as largely ceremonial. Baka succeeds Tamás Sulyok, an ally of Viktor Orbán whose mandate was ended prematurely through a constitutional amendment adopted by the Tisza government in July. This move was part of Prime Minister Magyar's effort to dismantle the political legacy and institutional hold of the previous administration. The opposition Fidesz party boycotted the vote, calling the removal of Sulyok illegitimate and describing the new election as a glitch in the matrix. In his acceptance speech, Baka stated that an election result alone does not restore the rule of law. He criticized the previous sixteen years of governance, asserting that the state had been captured and that checks and balances had ceased to exist. He emphasized that the new Hungary should not be built on a foundation of revenge. Baka, 73, previously served as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights from 1991 to 2008. He was removed from his position as head of the Supreme Court in 2011 or 2012 after criticizing the Orbán government's decision to lower the retirement age for judges. The European Court of Human Rights later ruled that his dismissal violated his freedom of expression. Prime Minister Magyar indicated that Baka may only serve a portion of his term, potentially until the completion of a process to rewrite the Constitution, which is expected to take one to one and a half years.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets framed the event as a necessary step toward restoring the rule of law and dismantling the authoritarian remnants of the Orbán era.
- Centre
- These outlets focused on the procedural details of the constitutional change and the specific legal arguments regarding the legitimacy of the transition.
- Centre-right
- This outlet framed the election as a symbolic move by the new conservative prime minister to loosen the previous leader's grip on state institutions.
Sources
- Centre Bloomberg: Hungary Elects Baka as New President in Shift From Orban Era
- Centre-left CNN: Hungary parliament elects former supreme court head Andras Baka as president
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Hungary: Orbán critic András Baka is new head of state of Hungary
- Centre-left El Pais: The Hungarian Parliament elects András Baka as president to facilitate the political transition
- Centre-left Le Monde: In Hungary, Andras Baka, opponent of Viktor Orban, is elected president by Parliament
- Centre Reuters: Hungary parliament elects former supreme court head Andras Baka as president - reuters.com
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: Hungary parliament approves Orban-critic judge as president
- Centre Telex: András Baka is the new president of the republic
- Centre Telex: Hungarian Parliament elects András Baka, former head of supreme court as president
- Centre Telex: András Baka: We cannot avoid the confrontation; we broadcast the vote for the president of the republic
- Centre Telex: András Baka: An election result alone does not restore the rule of law
- Centre-left The Guardian: Former judge Baka elected new Hungarian president in another break from Orbán era – Europe live
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.