Paet not dropping out of presidential race yet
MEP Urmas Paet (Reform/ALDE) doesn’t agree that his party has already chosen two potential candidates. He announced on Thursday that he would continue with his own bid until the Reform Party’s leadership announced its choice.
After Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand (independent) made her decision public on Wednesday not to run in the parliamentary ballot rounds of the upcoming elections, but instead become a candidate only in case the electoral college was convened, the party seems to be set for both options, with former EU commissioner Siim Kallas as its potential candidate for an election in the Riigikogu.
Starting on Aug. 29, the Riigikogu has the opportunity to select the new head of state in three ballot rounds or less. If this shouldn’t work, an electoral college consisting of the MPs as well as representatives of Estonia’s parishes will convene.
While Kaljurand announced she wouldn’t be a candidate in the Riigikogu, she made it clear that she would still run if the election moved on to the electoral college.
Paet said that he didn’t agree that everything had already been decided, and that the potential candidacies were a done deal. He said he intended to continue until the party leadership told him otherwise.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn