Katri Raik wants three-party coalition in Narva
Katri Raik, the leader of an electoral alliance that won 15 seats in the 31-member Narva city council, said coalition negotiations have not started yet. Raik is set to meet with Eesti 200 and electoral alliance Elagu Narva to create as strong a coalition as possible.
It would be enough for electoral alliance Katri Raigi Nimekiri ("Katri Raik's List") to reach an agreement with Eesti 200, which received two seats in the city council, to have control of the majority, but a strong leadership position would be ensured by a three-party coalition, ETV's daily affairs show "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported on Wednesday.
"Knowing the political reality of Narva, a stable coalition is one with at least 18 members, which means one seat would not be a deciding factor. Narva cannot be proud about having four mayors in four years. We want stable city leadership and we are working hard to achieve it," Raik said.
Electoral alliance Elagu Narva holds four seats in the 31-member city council and unlike Raik, who has ruled out cooperation with the Center Party, alliance leader Aleksei Jevgrafov has not taken a clear stance on the topic.
"We are currently going through the first steps with Katri Raigi Nimekiri and Center Party. We just want to understand who it would be easiest and most effective to move forward with. We want to be equal partners, that is one of the most important things," Jevgrafov noted.
The politicians said a coalition agreement should be completed by the end of next week.
Katri Raik's electoral list won 15 seats in Narva, only one seat fewer than an absolute majority for the 31-member council. The Center Party came second with 10 seats and Eesti 200 won two. Former mayor Aleksei Jevgrafov's election alliance "Elagu Narva" won four seats.
EKRE, which had been campaigning to win Russian-speakers' votes, failed to cross the threshold and won no seats on the council.
Raik received 4,512 votes, the highest of any candidate in the region.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste