Hungarian Speaker of Parliament Katalin Szili resigned her post on Monday, a position she held for 88 months, making her the longest-standing speaker in the country' s 20-year post-communist history. Szili announced her decision to resign at the start of the fall session on July 4. She held the post since 2002 and was a deputy speaker from 1998 to 2002. She has been a member of Parliament since 1994. She said the reasons for her resignation involved politics, personal factors and issues of conscience. Speaking from the rostrum for the last time, she said that from now until parliamentary elections, due in spring, she planned to devote herself to the issues of concern to most people. The Socialist Party -- MSZP -- which holds a majority in Parliament, chose Bela Katona, deputy MSZP caucus chief, to replace her. Katona was voted into the post on Monday afternoon, receiving 319 ayes and 22 nays in a secret ballot. The Parliament has 386 members in all. Katona, who holds a PhD in economics, has been an MP since 1990. 