Höövelson may become Center's lead candidate in Ida-Viru County
MP Kaido Höövelson has not ruled out the possibility of becoming the Center Party's lead candidate in Ida-Viru County. "Anything is possible. It can't be ruled out, but it's not 100 percent certain," Höövelson said in response to a question from ERR. Höövelson said, it will become clear once Center's executive board confirms its list of candidates.
In an interview published by local newspaper Põhjarannik on Saturday, Höövelson revealed that he will stand in Ida-Viru County during next year's Riigikogu elections, which are due to take place on March 5. In the last Riigikogu elections in 2019, Höövelson was third on Center's list in Harju and Rapla Counties, where he also finished third, behind fellow Center members Jüri Ratas and Vladimir Arhipov, gaining 642 votes.
Asked by Põhjarannik how many mandates Center will be seeking in Ida-Viru County, Höövelson said that it will definitely be at least three.
In the 2019 Riigikogu elections, Center won three-and-a-half of the seven available mandates in Ida-Viru County.
However, Yana Toom, the Center's lead candidate in Ida-Viru County in 2019 and 2015, has announced that, on this occasion, she will instead run in Tallinn. The absence of Toom, Stalnuhhin and Martin Repinski, who left the party in August having previously been elected to the Riigikogu on two occasions, the Center Party's representation in Ida-Viru County appears to be significantly weaker for next year's elections.
Former Mayor of Narva Alexei Jevgrafov, who was also previously a member of the Reform Party, revealed in mid-September that he was in talks with Center about standing in the Riigikogu elections, but added, that no firm agreement had yet been made.
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Editor: Michael Cole
