Sixteen votes from the 31-member council were needed for the motion to succeed. However, only 15 were in favor. Three councilors abstained.

At a previous meeting on November 21, 17 members supported the formation of a new coalition between Katri Raik's (SDE) "Respekt" faction and the Independent Mihhail Stalnuhhin and his "Narva 2.0" grouping.

For the coalition to come to power, Toots needs to be voted out of office. Raik was hoping to be elected in his place.

To ERR's knowledge, Respekt's Vice Chairman Vladimir Žavoronkov was absent from the vote on Saturday, while "Narva 2.0" members Aleksei Mägi, Vadim Orlov and Jelena Kavrus did cast a ballot.

Before the vote, Toots gave a speech in both Estonian and Russian, outlining what his city government had achieved.

A vote of no confidence in city council deputy chairman Natalia Umarova also failed.

Yesterday, Center Party Chairman Mihhail Kõlvart said party members who voted against Toots would be kicked out of the party. There are 10 Center members on the council, but five support Toots and five support Stalnuhhin's faction.

--

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