Prime minister: We will elect Karis in the electoral college anyway
Reform Party chairwoman and prime minister Kaja Kallas said after the first Riigikogu vote, which finished with Alar Karis not receiving enough votes to become president, that all 58 available votes from coalition parties went to the candidate. This means only five votes came from opposition parties.
The prime minister noted that opposition representatives began speaking about coalition votes not holding up in the halls of the Riigikogu building in Toompea on Monday early morning.
"What is important is that we can elect Karis with two parties in the electoral college. But just... Do we need this circus until then, when we know that there are people in all Riigikogu groups that would have voted for Alar Karis and would agree that he would make a good president," Kallas said.
She confirmed that government parties will once again set Karis up as a candidate on Tuesday. Karis confirmed right after the vote that he is up to continue his candidacy. The second Riigikogu election session is set to take place at 12 p.m. on Tuesday.
Kallas said earlier on Monday that her party will stick with Karis as candidate throughout the presidential election process, all the way to the end of the electoral college if need be.
The prime minister also said that her party had engaged in talks with the other parties. "We have also communicated with other parties. In our talks, they said that they would be ready to support Alar Karis, but whether this gets reflected in a cross on the ballot paper will be revealed after the election. I have personally communicated with party chairmen," Kallas said before the vote on Monday.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Kristjan Kallaste