A majority of 40 was required.

The council then voted on a new mayor, Madle Lippus (SDE); this vote passed, just, with a majority of 40. Lippus had up until now been one of several deputy mayors in the capital.

The vote spells the end of the Center Party's nearly 20-year dominance of Tallinn city government. Center had been in coalition with the Social Democrats (SDE) since late 2021, but the latter party announced Monday they would be leaving that arrangement.

At the start of the session, 43 city council deputies had registered their presence (see gallery above). Three EKRE deputies were missing, however, and the party's faction leader Mart Kallas said at the session that EKRE would not be taking part in the vote.

However, since there were three EKRE members in the hall, two of who declined to vote, this means one EKRE deputy also voted in favor of the no-confidence motion; the vote itself is held via secret ballot.

EKRE deputy Urmas Espenberg subsequently told ERR that he had been the one who voted against Kõlvart's continuation in office, saying: "Today there was a vote of no confidence in the 'Russian' government in Tallinn, so I had to use this historic opportunity."

"Ultimately, the motion passing did not hinge on my vote, as otherwise there would have been 40 votes in total, but when fate presented me with such an opportunity, I made use of it," Espenberg went on.

What happens next in terms of coalition creation in the capital is not his sole concern beyond that, Espenberg said, adding that he will follow the party line.

Mart Kallas had also stated that if the Center Party would continue to lead Tallinn, EKRE would remain in opposition.

Mihhail Kõlvart also spoke, and pointed out that several former leading politicians of the Center Party, who had since left the party, were sitting on its board during the key events of the Porto Franco controversy in January 2021, which led to the downfall of the Center-EKRE-Isamaa coalition at the national level.

These same former Center members had on Tuesday voted in favor of the motion of no confidence, Kõlvart noted.

Kõlvart also said a recent circuit court decision, ostensibly the cause of the timing of the no-confidence motion, is being appealed, by Center, at the Supreme Court.

Reform's Tallinn leader, Pärtel-Peeter Pere, along with the leader of Isamaa, Karl Sander Kase, both argued that Kõlvart cannot use a judgment that has not yet entered into force (due to the appeal) as a shield, on the grounds that a circuit court decision alone is weighty enough to prompt an expression of no confidence.

Speaking for SDE, Jevgeni Ossinovski conceded that the no-confidence motion was also partly submitted against his own party, given it is in coalition with Center.

Ossinovski then said he did not want to dwell on the issue of the vote, saying that it had been the decision of the SDE Tallinn regional board.

The motion of no confidence in Kõlvart was initially submitted by 37 city deputies at last Thursday's session, signed by those from the four opposition parties: The Reform Party, Isamaa, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Eesti 200.

These deputies were joined by two independents, Tõnis Mölder and Taavi Aas, both formerly of the Center Party, and of Igor Gräzin – who at the time was still a Center member but quit the party ahead of Tuesday's vote.

The outgoing Center-SDE coalition had held 43 seats at the 79-seat chamber, though this total includes Gräzin.

The sitting, at the Tallinn City Council (Tallinna linnavolikogu) chambers on Vana-Viru 12, was held on an extraordinary basis, and was live-linked in Estonian by ERR.

The sole item on the agenda was the vote on the motion of no confidence in Kõlvart as mayor.

The Center Party has been in office in Tallinn since November 2005, i.e. 18-and-a-half years, and for most of that time had been the sole governing party.

As such it has provided the last four Tallinn mayors, who are as follows:

Jüri Ratas (November 2005-April 2007). Ratas is one of the high-profile recent departures from Center, in his case to Isamaa.

Edgar Savisaar (April 2007 - October 2017). Edgar Savisaar was a party co-founder and passed away in December 2022.

Taavi Aas (October 2017-April 2019). Aas has also left Center.

Mihhail Kõlvart (April 2019 - March 26, 2024).

Kõlvart was elected Center Party chair last September, a development which was followed by a wave of defections of various leading members of the party. Kõlvart is identified with the "Russian" wing of the party, which until that time had been more-or-less in balance with the Estonian wing.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include details on the stance of EKRE, SDE, Isamaa and Reform, as well as Mihhail Kõlvart's reaction to the vote and the quote from Urmas Espenberg.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!