June 17, 2009, 10:53 CET
Solyom to nominate Baka for Supreme Court post for third time after vote fiasco
The parliamentary group of the minority ruling Socialist party on Tuesday asked President Laszlo to re-nominate Andras Baka as Chief Justice after a failed parliamentary vote earlier.
Andras Baka failed to secure a majority of votes in Parliament on Monday in order to become the President of the Supreme Court.
Baka, a former member of the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, was nominated by President Laszlo Solyom for the second time. Parliament first rejected him last May.
The Supreme Court has been without a chief judge since June 24 last year, when Zoltan Lomnici's six-year term expired.
Solyom strongly criticised Monday's outcome, saying the process had not been honest and above-board.
Prior to the vote, both opposition Fidesz and the Socialists -- the biggest party groups -- had pledged their support for Baka. But the actual result defied their expectations.
In a statement sent to MTI, Attila Mesterhazy, the Socialist group leader, said that his party continued to support Baka's candidacy, and requested that Solyom re-nominate him to allow a new vote in parliament.
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So far Fidesz has rejected the demands to have an open ballot. Only secret voting has been allowed so far, so it is not possible to see who is voting yes or no. So what is Fidesz hiding?
That's the problem if you only listen to your own news channels, you don't get the whole info! It happens to be unconstitutional to vote by open vote on personal matters, which is why, Fidesz, KDNP and MDF rejected the open vote. Makes you think about MSZP's motives for proposing it! Of course Fidesz and the others could have been more clever politically and let the head of parliament (MSZP) reject the motion.
rozkri,
"unconstitutional to vote by open vote on personal matters"
Could you quote that paragraph please?
Rozkri, the Constitution provides for parliamentarians’ vote by secret ballot for office holders such as: (i) the President, art. 29B(2); (ii) members of the representative body of counties and the mayor, art.71. It is silent on the manner of the casting of votes for the office of the Chief Justice. However, the list of public office-holders in these two provisions enable the legal abstraction that a vote by parliamentarians for any holder of non-parliamentary public office is to be by secret ballot. (This is how lacuna in any statute is dealt with. Alternately, a parliament may enact a law that fills the lacuna.) So you are quite right. It would be unconstitutional to deny the secret-ballot privilege in the election of any public-office holder.
The Hungarian Constitution is unconstitutional.
It must be...
Sophie,
Now you are moving the goal-posts again.
"It would be unconstitutional to deny the secret-ballot privilege".
I do not have a problem with that, that is a normal rule in the civilized part of the world where I come from.
The question was if it is *"unconstitutional to vote by open vote on personal matters"*, which is a total different thing.
rozkri is claiming that and that "the head of parliament (MSZP) reject the motion", meaning that the Speaker must have denied an open vote.
This is a political game Fidesz is playing that we all know too well. They can never take responsibility for their actions.
Of course in a democracy it is important to know how your elected leaders vote for one of the more important positions in the country.
Why are always these things so hard in Hungary - normal responsibility, courage and stand up for your ideas?
If you think whoever the President suggest is an ass-hole, say it out loud for everyone to hear.
Well,
Someone blinked and it was obviously not Solyom.
"Parliament approves Baka as Hungary's chief judge
6/22 17:05"
From http://english.mti.hu/.
Viking,
Hungary does not have a legitimate constitution since Stalin rescinded it by decree to this day.
Learn some history. The constitution what you're wrangling about means nothing. I tell you when THE constitution sets foot on Hungarian soil. When the Soviet monument gets removed from the most prominent square of Budapest.
Of course that would require imprisonment of Gabor Demszky and his ilk, which is going to be reality soon.