Narva city council chair, deputy chair both step down
The chair and deputy chair of Narva city council have resigned, rendering moribund a vote of no-confidence they both faced.
31 deputies sit on Narva City Council, with the Center Party making up the bulk of the opposition of 13.
Council chair Tatyana Stolfat (pictured) along with deputy chair Vadim Orlov, both of the Center Party, were facing a vote of no-confidence at the council chamber this coming Monday, but preempted this by resigning Friday.
The no-confidence motion was initiated by deputies from their own party, from the "Narva hüvanguks" faction within Center, and along with the Respekt electoral alliance.
Monday's meeting, set to start at 4 p.m., is set to hold elections for the new chair and deputy chair positions, as a consequence of the resignations.
Stolfat and Orlov only assumed their recent posts in the spring; the other Center Party/"Narva hüvanguks" deputy council chair, Natalia Umarova, is not facing a no-confidence vote.
ERR reports the candidates for replacement chair and deputy chair are Marina Šurupova (Center /"Narva hüvanguks" )) and Vladimir Žavoronkova (Respekt).
The new coalition comprised Respekt and "Narva Heaks," later renamed "Narva hüvanguks" , as noted a faction within Center, entered office in August, with a majority of 18 (nine councilors each).
Katri Raik remains Mayor of Narva.
Politics in the eastern border town are noted for their rambunctious nature; on Friday alone, the city administration began changing the names of five streets in the town of a little under 54,000 people, though the state rather than the local authority is covering the cost – this despite the fact that the council had voted against such a move.
The streets were named after individuals who had served in the Soviet armed forces during and in the 1944 Battle of Narva, and have been renamed along more appropriate lines.
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Editor: Viktor Solts, Andrew Whyte, Marko Tooming
Source: ERR Novosti