Hungary’s ruling party nominates former supreme court head András Baka as president

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s ruling Tisza party nominated András Baka, a former head of the Supreme Court, as the country’s ​next president, the party’s parliamentary group said on Facebook on Saturday.

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s ruling Tisza party nominated András Baka, a former head of the Supreme Court, as the country’s ​next president, the party’s parliamentary group said on Facebook on Saturday.

Baka, 73, is expected ‌to be elected to the largely ceremonial position by parliament on Tuesday, a symbolic step in Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s attempt to dismantle former premier Viktor Orbán’s bastions of power, for which Magyar says he ​received a strong mandate from voters in April elections which his party won by ​a landslide.

Tisza lawmakers said Baka had always “attached paramount importance to the principle ⁠of the separation of powers, consistently standing up for the rule of law and ​judicial independence.”

“We are convinced that Dr. András Baka’s experience and the professional independence he has ​demonstrated throughout his career represent a significant asset at a time when we are preparing to jointly lay the foundations for Hungary’s new constitutional order,” they added.

Magyar’s election victory ended Orbán’s 16-year rule. He has ​vowed to restore democratic standards and has called on key officials appointed or elected ​by Orbán’s party to resign.