Hungary swears in Orban critic Andras Baka as president

Hungary swore in former Supreme Court chief Andras Baka, a critic of Viktor Orban, as president on Tuesday after parliament approved him for the largely ceremonial post.

Baka, 73, was elected by lawmakers after being nominated by Prime Minister Peter Magyar's ruling Tisza party, which holds a two-thirds majority. He was sworn in immediately after the vote. Orban's Fidesz party boycotted the vote.

Baka replaces Tamas Sulyok, an Orban ally whose mandate was cut short last month by a constitutional amendment adopted as part of Magyar's reform drive.

Calling for unity, Baka told parliament: "There is one thing we certainly cannot do: we cannot build the new Hungary on revenge." He also said constitution-making must never again become "the exclusive project of a single political force".

Magyar said Baka's career showed a commitment to democratic rule of law and constitutional principles. His Tisza party won April elections, ending Orban's 16 years in power and promising "system change".

Rights watchdogs criticised Sulyok's removal, comparing it with methods used under Orban to build what he called an "illiberal" system. Fidesz called the ouster "tyrannical" and "illegitimate".

Baka served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1991 to 2008 and became head of Hungary's Supreme Court in 2009. He was dismissed in 2012 after criticising Orban-era legislation lowering the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 62. The European Union and the United States called the age-limit reduction illegal, and the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2016 that Baka's removal violated his freedom of expression.

Magyar has said the new president would serve only part of his term while Hungary works to replace its Orban-era Basic Law with a constitution drafted through broad public participation. He has estimated that process would take a year to 18 months and has promised consultations next month.