The decision was made after a meeting lasting over four hours, on Thursday night. As in Tallinn, there are several deputy mayors sitting on Tartu's city government.

Center Party leader and Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, the party's deputy chair Mailis Reps and its secretary-general, Mihhail Korb, were also in Tartu to resolve the crisis, which dates back to Jaan Toots' election as head of Centre's Tartu branch, BNS reports, and saw Centre potentially leaving the coalition it is in with the Reform Party on Tartu's City Government.

"After lengthy discussion and deliberation, Monica Rand decided to resign from the position of deputy mayor on Jan. 1, 2020," Toots said after the meeting.

"This was simply the final result of long hours," Toots continued.

"[Rand] decided very amenably that the party would continue in the coalition. This was a wonderful decision," Toots added.

Rand's replacement is still to be announced, and she is staying on till year end partly due to work still to be done on the city government's budget, something she is intimately familiar with, Toots said.

Another Centre Party Tartu deputy mayor, Madis Lepajoe, has also been earmarked for potentially being shown the door, but since he is currently sick in hospital, this was not on the table at Thursday's meeting, according to BNS.

"We wish him a speedy recovery," Toots said.

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