It is not yet known whether Aru will be the number one candidate on the party's list or not, though the composition of the list has led to a quarrel among party members in Estonia's second city, a traditional Reform Party stronghold, with Deputy Mayor Gea Kangilaski filing her resignation along with several party members.

An "unfriendly management culture" and favoritism are among the complaints.

The party will confirm its list and running order at a regional branch meeting in December, an SDE spokesperson announced.

Aru has reportedly not joined the party.

The running order of a party list under Estonia's d'Hondt system of proportional representation means that excess votes once a candidate has passed the threshold to clinch a seat can be distributed to candidates lower down the list, sometimes resulting in them winning a seat also, even as they would have been unable to do in their own right.

For this reason, parties often run high-profile "vote magnet" candidates in the number one spot.

The general election is on March 5 2023.

Krista Aru was an MP with the now-defunct Free Party (Vabaerakond) in the XIII Riigikogu, 2015-2019.

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