Andras Baka (File photo: AFP)

BUDAPEST, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's ruling Tisza party on Saturday named former Supreme Court chief Andras Baka as its candidate for president, ahead of a parliamentary vote next Tuesday.

The party's parliamentary faction chose Baka, 73, in a secret ballot from a three-person shortlist, the Tisza said in a statement.

Baka served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1991 to 2008 before Hungary's parliament elected him president of the Supreme Court in 2009.

His mandate was cut short in 2011 following judicial reforms introduced by then Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz government. Baka subsequently continued working as a judge at Hungary's top court.

Tisza said Baka had consistently defended the rule of law, judicial independence and the separation of powers.

Baka is expected to be the only candidate on the ballot, as nominations require the support of one-fifth of Hungary's 199 lawmakers, or 40 MPs.

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.