Savisaar finally quits Parliament
Tallinn Mayor and Center Party head Edgar Savisaar has left Parliament and will continue as the capital's mayor, after lengthy pause due to serious illness.
Savisaar won over 25,000 votes at the March 1 general elections, by far the most of any candidate. PM Taavi Rõivas was second with close to 16,000 votes.
As the Center Party was left outside of the government, Savisaar was widely tipped to relinquish his Parliament seat and focus on leading the party and Tallinn. Due to his health problems, which kept him away from work for a couple of months, Parliament had 100, not 101 members.
Savisaar could not resign from Parliament until receiving a full bill of health from doctors.
Peeter Ernits was today sworn in as Savisaar's replacement. Ernits is a former zoologist and journalist, having headed the Estonian Union of Journalists between 2008-2014. He ran in 1995 and in 2011 for Parliament for the royalists and the People's Union of Estonia respectively, but failed both times. This year, running for the Center Party, Ernits picked up 825 votes.
Ernits was due to be named MP in September, when Parliament returns from its summer holiday, but since Parliament held a special session on Greece's bailout, Ernits was sworn in today.
Parliament will still have two Savisaars, Erki Savisaar, Edgar Savisaar's son, and Vilja Savisaar-Toomast, Edgar's ex-wife. Erki is a Center Party member, Vilja is in the Reform Party.
Editor: J.M. Laats