The new Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom, center, touches the national flag as he is sworn in after he was elected in the Parliament building Tuesday, June 7, 2005. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

A portrait of the new elected Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom. (AFP file photo)

    BUDAPEST, June 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Opposition candidate Laszlo Solyom,a former chief justice of the Constitutional Court, was elected as the new Hungarian president on Tuesday.

    Solyom, the 63-year-old candidate of a center-right opposition party, won 185 votes and defeated government candidate Katalin Szili who got 182 in the third and final round of voting, vice speaker of parliament Laszlo Mandur said.

    Solyom only grabbed 13 votes in the first round as two opposition parties did not cast their ballots. His support jumped to 185 votes in the second round with opposition backing. But the previous rounds failed to produce a two-thirds majority and a run-off had to be held.

    The third round victory required only a simple majority. A total of 368 members of the 386-seat parliament cast their ballots in the round. Solyom won the election with just three votes more than Szili, and one vote was declared invalid.

    He will take office on August 5 when President Ferenc Madl ends his five-year term. Enditem