New President to be elected in August or September
Eiki Nestor, the President of the Riigikogu, confirmed to the Baltic News Service on Thursday that parliament will elect a new President likely on 29 and 30 August. In the case of deadlock in the Riigikogu, an electoral college would convene on 24 September.
“Riigikogu's Council of Elders heard the opinion of the national electoral committee, which proposed the dates based on the time President Toomas Hendrik Ilves’ term ends,” Nestor told the BNS.
The President of Estonia is elected by the Riigikogu for a five-year term. If no candidate reaches a supermajority of two thirds of the Riigikogu’s votes in three balloting rounds, the election is postponed, and a special electoral college convenes. The electoral college is made up of the Riigikogu’s members as well as representatives of Estonia’s local governments.
According to Nestor, organizing the electoral college takes time. He said that the procedure was such that if the President is not elected in parliament, the local governments would elect their representatives for the electoral college, and that they would then meet.
Chairman of the National Electoral Committee Aaro Mottus pointed out that 29 and 30 August as well as 24 September were only provisional dates for the presidential election. The Riigikogu wouldn’t be in session in August, and would have to convene for a special session, Mottus said.
Current President Toomas Hendrik Ilves’ second term ends in August 2016.
Editor: Dario Cavegn