Hungary's parliament has elected András Baka, a 73-year-old former Supreme Court chief justice, as the country's new president, replacing Tamás Sulyok, who was ousted last month. The role is largely ceremonial, but Baka's tenure is expected to be significant as he will oversee Prime Minister Péter Magyar's efforts to dismantle the political and economic structures built by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as well as the drafting of a new constitution to replace the one Orbán introduced in 2011.

Baka, who spent 17 years as Hungary's judge at the European Court of Human Rights, was elected by 140 votes to six after all 51 MPs from Orbán's Fidesz party walked out in protest. Notably, it was Fidesz that removed Baka from his post as Supreme Court president in 2011 after he opposed their undermining of judicial independence. Since taking office in May, Magyar's government has passed 27 laws and two constitutional amendments, scrapping Orbán-era states of emergency, abolishing the Sovereignty Protection Office and limiting future prime ministers and MPs to fixed term limits. Baka, describing himself as not a political man, has said he opposes some of these term limits and is expected to serve as a transitional figure for up to five years until a new constitution is adopted.