BUDAPEST, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's governing Tisza parliamentary group proposed on Wednesday that parliament elect the country's new president on Aug. 11.
In a document published on the parliament's website, Tisza group leader Andrea Bujdoso requested that the presidential election be added to the agenda of an extraordinary parliamentary session scheduled for Aug. 10-11. The group also proposed holding the vote on Aug. 11.
Former President Tamas Sulyok's mandate ended at midnight on July 20 under the 17th amendment to Hungary's Fundamental Law. Speaker of Parliament Agnes Forsthoffer is currently serving as acting president. Under the Fundamental Law, parliament must elect a new president within 30 days.
Also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said he had met Andras Baka, a former head of Hungary's Supreme Court, whom Hungarian media have named as a possible candidate for the presidency.
In a Facebook post, Magyar described Baka as one of Hungary's most respected experts on European law and constitutional affairs, and said the two had "plenty to discuss," without elaborating.
Baka, 73 years old, previously served two terms as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights. After being removed as head of the Supreme Court in 2011 following the adoption of the Fundamental Law, he continued as a senior judge at the Supreme Court.
Under Hungarian law, a presidential nominee requires the backing of at least one-fifth of lawmakers, or 40 MPs, to enter the ballot. ■