He is “the strongest guarantee that the office of President of the Republic will regain its true dignity and its ability to unite the nation and serve as a counterbalance to the ruling majority,” it added.
Parliament is set to vote on his candidacy next Tuesday. Tisza, which won a general election in the spring, enjoys a two-thirds majority in the chamber, making Baka’s election to the largely representative post a formality.
The nomination comes after former President Tamás Sulyok signed a constitutional amendment that removed him from office last month, bowing to months of public pressure from Magyar. The new prime minister had called for Sulyok’s resignation following Tisza’s landslide election victory that ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule.
Magyar’s first choice for president, chess grandmaster Judit Polgár, declined the nomination, saying the job would be too stressful.