Hungarian lawmakers approved former supreme court chief András Baka as the country’s new president on Tuesday following the contested removal last month of the previous head of state as pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Péter Magyar pushes to loosen his predecessor’s lingering hold over state institutions.

Parliament, where the ruling Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority, elected Baka, who served 17 years as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), with 140 votes in favour and six votes against.

Tisza nominated 73-year-old Baka for the largely ceremonial role on Saturday.

Magyar said Baka’s life served “as an example of…

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