Mart Helme confirmed EKRE’s presidential candidate
The Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), whose convention was held on Sunday at Pärnu Concert Hall, decided that it will nominate party chairman Mart Helme for president in this summer’s elections.
Helme’s candidacy was supported by all EKRE delegates present at the convention, reported ETV’s nightly news broadcast “Aktuaalne kaamera.”
The party chairman promised that, if elected, he would represent the state, the people and the conservative worldview, notably “without hypocritical hate speech.”
He noted that EKRE’s primary goal was to take the state back from cartels and back rooms and return it to the Estonian people, which would involve becoming the country’s most popular political party and, following Riigikogu elections, forming a government under EKRE leadership.
In a speech given at the Pärnu convention, Helme pointed out that while their party had been as of yet too young and weak to attain greater wins in local governmental elections, political party members were sick of the status quo and no longer remained loyal to “back rooms,” and the party could count on the fact that many of them preferred EKRE and its party candidate.
He stated that it was EKRE’s duty to ensure that a puppet of the “cartel parties” did not end up in the presidential palace who would unquestioningly sign such legislation as the recently-passed administrative reform and the Registered Partnership Act into law.
The EKRE convention also reelected Helme as party chairman, electing Martin Helme, Jaak Madison and Merry Aart as deputy chairmen.
A proposal was presented to allow the matter of direct elections be put to referendum, as had been foreseen by President Lennart Meri in a bill introduced by the latter during his last day in office, and later supported by President Arnold Rüütel as well.
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik