Allar Jõks wins first election round, to run against Siim Kallas in second
The first ballot round of today’s presidential election is over. The winner is Allar Jõks with 83 votes, followed by Siim Kallas with 81 votes. According to the rules of the electoral college, Jõks and Kallas will run against each other in the second round scheduled for 4 p.m. today Saturday.
Results:
- Allar Jõks: 83 votes
- Siim Kallas: 81 votes
- Mailis Reps: 79 votes
- Marina Kaljurand: 75 votes
- Mart Helme: 16 votes
- Blank ballot sheets: 0
- Invalid ballot sheets: 0
According to the registrations for the college, 334 electors voted in the first round. One of the two electors missing is Rein Ratas of the Center Party, who couldn't participate in the election for health reasons.
This result means that Reps, Kaljurand, and Helme are out of the race, and that Allar Jõks and Siim Kallas will be the only candidates in the upcoming second round at 4 p.m.
Jõks' support was broader than expected. The most recent surveys had seen him as second runner-up, with only a limited number of electors stating that he was their second choice.
Asked whether he now had his whole party behind him in the second round, Kallas said that this was a difficult question. Marina Kaljurand, who had originally been the Refrom Party's second candidate for the race, said after the first round that she hoped the electors would do their duty and actually elect the next head of state.
Party officials as well as analysts are already considering the consequences of the election moving back to the Riigikogu. While the Estonian Conservative People's Party announced ahead of the election that they would hand in blank ballot sheets, there is now a chance that other parties might follow the example to keep either of the two remaining candidates from becoming president.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn
