Hungary’s parliament elected Andras Baka, a former head of ‌the supreme court, as the country’s next president on Tuesday, a symbolic step in prime minister Peter ​Magyar’s effort to dismantle former premier Viktor Orbán’s bastions of power.Baka was elected to the largely ceremonial role with the votes of the governing centre-right Tisza party as members of ​the opposition Fidesz party did not take part in the election.In a speech after taking ⁠the oath of office, Baka criticised the previous government, saying that during ‌Orbán’s ‌rule, “one party ​captured the state”, branches of power were not separate and there was no functioning system of checks and balances.However, ⁠he said that the ​task of building a new future ​for Hungary “demands both justice and self-restraint” and said that the president’s role was to ‌represent citizens who hold differing views.“There ​is one thing we certainly cannot do, we cannot build the new Hungary ⁠on revenge,” Baka said.Magyar’s election ⁠victory in ​April ended Orbán’s 16-year rule. He has vowed to restore democratic standards and called on key officials appointed or elected by Orbán’s party to resign.Removing former president Tamas Sulyok was a key goal of Magyar, who called him a “puppet” of Orbán. Sulyok last month signed a constitutional amendment passed by Tisza that ended his own presidency.Under that ‌amendment, the new president ⁠will serve until a new constitution takes effect, or for a maximum of five years.Members of parliament from the opposition Fidesz ‌party did not take part in the vote as they said in a statement earlier ​in the day that Tisza “arbitrarily and illegitimately terminated” Sulyok’s term ​and accused the governing party of “tyranny”.Fidesz had accused Magyar’s government of authoritarianism, which Tisza denied. – Reuters