Hungary's president re-elected for 5-year term
BUDAPEST: Hungary's president has been re-elected by lawmakers for a five-year term in the second round of voting in parliament.
Janos Ader, nominated by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's governing Fidesz party, on Monday defeated Laszlo Majtenyi, a former ombudsman for data protection nominated by the left-wing opposition. Ader won by 131 votes to 39, with 29 abstentions.
Hungary's Basic Law, as the Constitution is called, allows the president, a mostly ceremonial post meant to embody national unity, to serve for a maximum of two terms.
The 57-year-old Ader is a former parliamentary speaker and member of the European Parliament. The 66-year-old Majtenyi currently heads the Eotvos Karoly Institute, a liberal think tank.
Ader has often spoken out on issues related to environmental protection and ensuring the global water supply.
Â