MP: Margus Tsahkna likely Eesti 200 number one candidate at European elections
Coalition party Eesti 200 is seeking to win at least one MEP mandate at June's European Parliament elections, one of the party's leading MPs says.
Igor Taro is one of Eesti 200's 14 MPs and also its new CEO, a position distinct from party chair.
Taro said Wednesday that it would be that leader, Margus Tsahkna, who would be in position one on the party's electoral list come June.
Eesti 200 was founded in 2018 but did not win any MEP mandates at the 2019 election.
Speaking to ERR's Russian-language news, Taro said: "Our plan is to run in the European Parliament elections and be competitive for at least one seat."
While the Eesti 200 board has not confirmed its electoral list yet, including who will be running in the top position, it was "logical" that Tsahkna, both as party chair and current foreign minister, occupy that place, Taro went on.
Under Estonia's d'Hondt system of proportional representation, parties run ordered lists of candidates (up to a maximum of nine in the case of a European election) in the hopes that a candidate or candidates higher up on the list can distribute excess votes, once they have clinched a seat, to the next candidate on the list. This means much attention is paid on who is running in the top spot on that list, perhaps even more so in the case of European elections – which tend to be more personality- than party-based and where only seven mandates are up for grabs.
The remainder of the broadcast dealt with Eesti 200's recent slump in the ratings, down to a level perilously close to not winning any seat in any type of direct election, a situation which Taro said was temporary and related to difficult decisions which are unpopular now, but which are necessary for the longer term benefit of the economy, including avoiding the state budget moving further into the red.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: ERR Rus