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AP News (12 August 2026)

Justin Spike

Hungary’s Parliament elected former Supreme Court chief justice András Baka as president on Tuesday as the country’s new government dismantles power structures left behind by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Lawmakers with the governing Tisza party elected Baka in a secret ballot with 140 votes for and six votes against with no abstentions, while Orbán’s far-right Fidesz party boycotted the vote.

Baka is expected to be sworn in on Aug. 19. The role of president in Hungary is largely ceremonial, though the president does have the power to send bills back to lawmakers or to the Constitutional Court for review.

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