Hungary's governing Tisza party has nominated András Baka, a former head of the country's Supreme Court who was removed from office by Viktor Orbán's government in 2011, as its candidate for the country's presidency. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced the decision on Saturday, describing it as one of the party's "most important decisions so far." A parliamentary vote is expected on Tuesday, and with Tisza holding a constitutional majority — including a two-thirds supermajority — Baka's election is widely considered a formality.

Baka, 73, is a legal scholar and jurist who was elected president of Hungary's Supreme Court in 2009. He was removed from the post three years early after publicly criticising judicial reforms introduced by the Orbán government, which he said threatened the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where Baka had himself served two terms as a judge between 1991 and 2008, ruled in 2016 that his dismissal violated his right to a fair trial and freedom of expression — a judgement that the Council of Europe said Hungary had never fully implemented. Before his judicial career, he also briefly served as an independent member of parliament in the early 1990s.

Tisza lawmakers praised Baka as someone who has "always attached paramount importance to the principle of separation of powers, consistently standing up for the rule of law and judicial independence." Magyar had initially approached chess grandmaster Judit Polgár for the role, but she declined. Baka was ultimately selected through a secret ballot within the party's parliamentary group. His nomination follows the recent constitutional removal of Orbán-allied President Tamás Sulyok, whom Magyar had repeatedly described as a puppet of the former government.

Baka replaces Sulyok, whose removal — achieved through a constitutional amendment — was one of several moves by the Magyar government to dismantle Orbán-era influence over state institutions since Tisza's landslide election victory in April ended Orbán's 16-year rule. Hungary's presidency is largely ceremonial, with limited powers to refer legislation back to parliament or grant pardons. Nevertheless, the nomination carries strong symbolic weight. Fidesz, Orbán's party now in opposition, announced it would boycott Tuesday's vote, accusing Tisza of authoritarian tactics — an allegation the ruling party denies.