Reform councilor claims more Center members ready to vote against Kõlvart

Several members of the Center Party have said they will also vote for the motion of no confidence in Mayor of Mihhail Kõlvart on Tuesday, said Peeter-Pärtel Pere, chairman of the council's Reform faction. Igor Gräzin left Center over the weekend.
"Tomorrow is the moment of truth," Pere said but refused to say how many Center members had planned to vote against Kõlvart.
The chairman said he had no information about what the Social Democrats (SDE) plan to do.
"I don't know what SDE are going to do, whether they will be present tomorrow morning for the vote of no confidence or not. I have said on several occasions that I hope they will come because, as they say, corruption is a red line. Now they themselves have the opportunity to step on either side of that red line they have drawn," said Pere.
"The Social Democrats have been saying since the autumn that, listen, if you have the votes, we can talk, but until then, good opposition, our coalition here with the Center Party will continue. They have said so far that it will continue. Now we have got the votes together and the ball is in SDE's hands in every way. If they do not want to come to the vote tomorrow, they can sort it out for themselves until the local elections next autumn," said Pere.

He said Reform has done everything in its power to change the situation. "We got the votes together /.../ We even got EKRE on board and we have 37 votes. It's up to SDE and I hope to see them tomorrow, but we won't know until tomorrow."
Pere said SDE's contribution to Tuesday's vote is still needed even with the 37 votes. "If the Social Democrats come out tomorrow and vote against Mihhail Kõlvart, Kõlvart will be history. Moreover, we have received additional support here and we are about to receive more, but without the SDE this will not happen," he said.
If Kõlvart loses the vote, then Pere said SDE can take the position of mayor in the next coalition: "We have said this publicly before. If the Social Democrats were to come out now and vote Kõlvart down, they have an extraordinary opportunity to win the mayor's seat."
Pere said EKRE has started to give conflicting signals.

"We were very pleased when the EKRE came and gave those signatures. But as the day goes on, the statements from the EKRE are not encouraging. The comments, whether from Mart Kallas or Martin Helme, are becoming more and more skeptical about this event. I certainly hope to see them there tomorrow. I don't see why they shouldn't come," Pere said.
He said all of Reform's members will participate tomorrow.
SDE had not made a decision by noon on Monday and the party will hold more discussions on the issue. The party has been in coalition with Center since 2021.
The vote will take place on Tuesday morning. Forty votes are needed for a majority in the 79-seat council.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Madis Hindre, Helen Wright