Ratas Too Passive, Says Regional Leader
Jüri Ratas, one of the two candidates for the Centre Party's chairmanship, should have been more active with the voters, said Värner Lootsmann head of the party’s Harju County regional committee.
Lootsmann told Harju Elu that he fully expects Edgar Savisaar to be re-elected as chief at this month's party congress, but not by as large a margin as he has in past votes.
The weak point of Ratas's campaign is that he has not explained his ideas thoroughly, said Lootsmann.
The party's Harju County regional committee has around a thousand members and will therefore have a substantial impact on the election results, Lootsmann said, adding that during two board meetings, members expressed their wish to see Savisaar continue his reign.
The regional committee has also agreed that the current Deputy Mayor of Tallinn Kalle Klandorf should be named as the chairman of the party's Court of Honor. Ago Kokserm, the current chairman of the Keila Town Council, should become one of the members of the party's Audit Committee, said Lootsmann.
Of the 1,600 delegates electing the new chairman at the August 27 congress, Harju County will be represented by 126 party members.
Ingrid Teesalu