Commenting on the current difficulties in Tallinn due to Center's loss of power and the impending €1 million fine, Kõlvart said the party has faced difficult times in the past.

Kõlvart lost a vote of confidence as mayor on Tuesday but said this will not stop him from standing in the EP elections to help secure support for the party. "As I have said before, if the party decides, I am ready to stand, and it does not depend on my current position," he said on Thursday.

Asked if he or MEP Jana Toom would top the party's list, he said the position is not important.

"Perhaps a place on the list has more symbolic value. I do not think it influences people's choices very much. So maybe I would not see any particular message in who is the frontrunner and who is the anchor. People will still make their choice based on what they know about the candidate and what the candidate has done," Kõlvart said.

Data from pollster Kantar Emor's most recent EP election survey shows Toom stands to gain 6.0 percent of the voters and Kõlvart 5.5 percent.

Aivar Voog, head of research at Kantar Emor, said the difference between Toom's and Kõvart's support is small, almost within the margin of error.

Kõlvart also recalled previous elections when they both ran in the same district. Toom gathered approximately 20 more votes.

The party will approve the candidate list on Saturday, April 6 after a board meeting. The chairman said there are "quite a lot" of strong candidates but the running order has not been decided yet. He will stand as a candidate and said popular members should be prepared to do so.

Party decides who goes to the European Parliament

However, in his opinion, the party should jointly decide who to send to the European Parliament, if a mandate is obtained in the elections.

"I am working on the assumption that, if the mandate comes, it really belongs to the party, because it is unlikely that anyone will be able to secure an individual mandate," he said. "And the party will then decide how best to use that mandate in the interests of the voters. But I'm not going to pretend either and say that I have no particular interest in working in Brussels."

Asked if he wanted to stay in Estonia to lead the party while someone else heads to Brussels, he said: "If that is what the party decides, then yes. But it has to be discussed by the board and maybe this discussion could also take place in a wider circle, how people see it. But today I think it is my duty to support the party list in the elections in any case."

It is assumed the party may pick up on seat, but not more. "Let's put it this way: even when the party had much greater resources, we did not got it. And today it would perhaps be a bit naive to hope for that and there is no such goal. The goal is our traditional mandate and it has to be won.," the former mayor said.

Campaign focuses on candidates' contributions

Speaking about how the Center Party, which is in a difficult financial situation, will launch an election campaign, Kõlvart said this is not the first time the party has struggled financially.

Five years ago it did not organize a big campaign, instead, each candidate used their own funds.

Voog said since the Center Party probably does not have the means to organize a strong media campaign, they must be active on the streets and in face-to-face meetings. The decisive factor will be how believable they are to the voters.

Kõlvart also admitted that there will be more emphasis on direct communication: "It has always been a strength of the Center Party that we always communicate with people directly."

Voog said Center's loss of power in Tallinn will not have a big impact on the party's election results, as their electorate is mainly Russian-speaking voters.

"The decision-making logic of Russian-speaking voters is not in line with the mainstream media in Estonia, so it does not have such a direct impact on them," he noted.

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