Tisza party nominates former judge András Baka for Hungarian presidency

Hungary's ruling Tisza party has nominated András Baka, a former president of the Supreme Court and judge at the European Court of Human Rights, to become the country's next head of state. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the nomination on Tuesday, 11 August. With Tisza commanding a two-thirds majority in the chamber following its landslide victory in the spring general election, Baka's election is all but assured.

A jurist with a history of confrontation with Fidesz

Baka's nomination carries considerable symbolic weight. He served as president of Hungary's Supreme Court from 2009 until 2011, when Viktor Orbán's Fidesz government removed him from the post as part of a controversial judicial overhaul that lowered the retirement age for judges. The move forced Baka into early retirement at 62. He challenged his dismissal at the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in 2016 that Hungary had violated his rights under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically the right of access to a court. The court found that the legislation used to remove him had been applied retroactively and lacked a legitimate aim.

The Tisza party, in its announcement on Saturday, emphasised Baka's record on judicial independence. "Throughout his career, Dr. András Baka has considered the principle of the separation of powers to be of paramount importance and has consistently stood up for the rule of law and judicial independence," the party said in a Facebook post. It described him as "the strongest guarantee that the office of President of the Republic will regain its true dignity and its ability to unite the nation and serve as a counterbalance to the ruling majority."

The presidency after Orbán

The Hungarian presidency is a largely ceremonial office, but its occupants have mattered in practice. Under Orbán, the position was held by allies who rarely challenged government policy. János Áder, president from 2012 to 2022, signed every piece of legislation placed before him, including the constitutional amendments that reshaped the judiciary, electoral system and media landscape. His successor, Katalin Novák, resigned in 2024 after a pardon scandal. Tamás Sulyok, a former Constitutional Court judge, took office in March 2024 but lasted barely five months.

Sulyok's departure came after sustained pressure from Magyar, who argued that a president appointed under the previous political order lacked democratic legitimacy following Tisza's electoral mandate. In July, Sulyok signed a constitutional amendment that shortened his own term and triggered a new election. The amendment passed with the support of Tisza's parliamentary majority. Critics noted the irony: a government elected on a platform of restoring constitutional norms used a constitutional amendment to remove a sitting president. Supporters countered that the amendment merely aligned the presidency with the new parliamentary term.

Magyar's first choice declines

Before turning to Baka, Magyar approached Judit Polgár, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player in history. Polgár declined, telling Hungarian media that the role would be too stressful and that she preferred to focus on her educational foundation and family. Her refusal was a setback for Magyar, who had hoped a non-political figure of international stature could help depolarise the office. Polgár's decision also underscored the reluctance of prominent Hungarians to enter a political arena still defined by the deep divisions of the Orbán era.

What Baka's election would signal

If elected, Baka would become the first Hungarian president with a direct record of litigating against the Hungarian state at an international court and winning. That fact alone changes the calculus for a government that has pledged to restore the rule of law. The European Commission has kept Hungary under its Article 7 procedure for years, citing systemic risks to judicial independence, academic freedom and media pluralism. Billions of euros in cohesion funds remain frozen pending reforms. Baka's presence in the presidential palace would not, by itself, unlock those funds, the presidency lacks executive power, but it would send a signal to Brussels that the new government takes the independence of the judiciary seriously.

The nomination also reflects a broader pattern in post-Orbán Hungarian politics: the recruitment of figures who were marginalised or punished by the previous regime. This includes not only Baka but also several ministers and senior officials who were forced out of the judiciary, academia or the civil service after 2010. Their return represents a form of institutional reckoning, though it also raises questions about whether a government defined by opposition to its predecessor can build durable new institutions.

The parliamentary arithmetic

Tisza won 198 of the 199 seats in the National Assembly in the April election, a result that gave it a constitutional two-thirds majority. The opposition is fragmented: the former ruling Fidesz party holds a single seat, while several smaller parties share the remainder. In practice, this means Tisza can amend the constitution, elect judges to the Constitutional Court and appoint the heads of independent authorities without needing a single vote from outside its ranks. The presidential election requires a two-thirds majority in the first two rounds; if no candidate reaches that threshold, a simple majority suffices in the third round. With 198 seats, Tisza can elect Baka in the first round even if a handful of its own MPs are absent or abstain.

International context and EU scrutiny

Hungary's rule-of-law trajectory has been a persistent irritant in EU-Hungary relations. The European Parliament has repeatedly described Hungary as a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy". The Commission's annual rule-of-law reports have documented the erosion of judicial independence, the capture of the media market by government allies, and the use of state resources for partisan purposes. Since taking office, Magyar has met Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and pledged to address the outstanding conditions for the release of frozen funds. The Commission's next assessment, due in the autumn, will be the first real measure of whether the new government's rhetoric translates into the structural changes Brussels demands.

Baka's own career straddles the national and European legal orders. After his removal from the Supreme Court, he served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 2012 to 2021, hearing cases from across the Council of Europe's 46 member states. That experience gives him a perspective on the Hungarian legal system that few domestic figures possess. It also means he is personally familiar with the mechanics of the European Convention on Human Rights, the treaty that underpins the EU's own Charter of Fundamental Rights and the basis for much of the Commission's rule-of-law conditionality.

Domestic reaction and the road ahead

Reaction in Budapest has been predictable along partisan lines. Fidesz loyalists have dismissed Baka as a partisan choice, pointing to his long association with the liberal legal establishment. Tisza supporters view the nomination as overdue justice for a judge who was punished for defending judicial independence. Civil society groups, including the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Transparency International Hungary, have welcomed the choice but warned that the presidency alone cannot fix a judiciary where Fidesz-appointed judges still dominate the upper courts. The Constitutional Court, the Kúria (Supreme Court) and the National Judicial Council all retain leadership appointed during the Orbán years.

Magyar has indicated that judicial reform will be a priority in the autumn legislative session. Options under discussion include restoring the pre-2011 retirement age for judges, introducing a merit-based appointment system for senior judicial posts, and strengthening the National Judicial Council's independence from the Ministry of Justice. Any such legislation will require the president's signature. Baka, if elected, would face the immediate test of whether he is willing to use his limited veto power, the president can refer legislation to the Constitutional Court or send it back to parliament once, to shape those reforms.