Riigikogu replacement for Ossinovski not yet found
As Social Democratic Party MP Jevgeni Ossinovski will take up the position of Tallinn city council chairman, he will have to leave the Riigikogu. Two potential replacements have already said no and Anastassia Kovalenko, the third option, has not yet announced her decision.
Interestingly enough, none of the three potential replacements for Ossinovski in the Riigikogu are part of the Social Democratic Party (SDE).
While Monika Haukanõmm, the Kesklinn district elder, ran for the Riigikogu in 2019 as part of the SDE electoral list, she became a member of the Center Party in June of 2020.
Haukanõmm announced last Saturday that she will continue as district elder and will not join the Riigikogu. "It is true that I was given an option to join the Riigikogu as a replacement member, but my certain choice is to continue what I came to do here in Kesklinn. I have been district elder for a year and this short time has been a launching pad for further plans," the district elder said.
Next on the list of replacements was former entrepreneurship and IT minister Rene Tammist, who also participated in the 2019 elections as part of the SDE list, but has now transferred from politics to business. Tammist told ERR that he does not wish to join the Riigikogu, either.
"I am occupied with implementing the green transition in business. I lead the development of Utilitas' renewable energy portfolio, am one of the leaders of startup company Stargate Hydrogen, which develops new hydrogen solutions, I contribute to the development of the sector as a commissioner for the Estonian Renewable Energy Association and board member of the Responsible Business Forum. Therefore, I have decided against joining the Riigikogu as a replacement," Tammist said.
The third replacement on the list is 2019 motorsport athlete of the year Anastassia Kovalenko, who ran as part of the Social Democratic Party in 2019, but left the party last year, claiming the party had changed its values. She was elected into the Tallinn city council in the recent local government elections as part of Center's electoral list.
Kovalenko has not responded to ERR's calls and queries yet, Center Party's Riigikogu group chair Jaanus Karilaid told ERR that Kovalenko has not given him any information about joining the Riigikogu, either.
If Kovalenko were to decide against joining the Riigikogu, current SDE member Toomas Jürgenstein will get the offer.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste
