Party infighting sent Estonia’s 2016 presidential election back to parliament

Estonia’s 2016 presidential election returned to the Riigikogu, the country’s parliament, after three unsuccessful rounds in parliament and the electoral college, ERR reported. The election was ultimately won by Kersti Kaljulaid.

ERR is publishing a week-long historical review of Estonia’s seven previous presidential elections ahead of the country’s eighth election this autumn. Eiki Nestor, Jaak Aab, Annika Arras and Martin Kukk recalled key details of the 2016 election.

The election was notable because, after failed rounds in the Riigikogu and the electoral college, it was sent back to parliament.

Several people were proposed as candidates through public initiatives or put themselves forward before the election. They included Ilvi Jõe-Cannon, Kaur Kender, Jaak Jõerüüt and Kristiina Ojuland.

The first round took place in the Riigikogu on August 29, 2016. Ninety-nine members of parliament took part, while Centre Party member Rein Ratas was absent for health reasons. Three candidates stood in the round: Mailis Reps, Allar Jõks and Eiki Nestor.

Nestor, the joint candidate of the Social Democratic Party and the Reform Party, received 40 votes. Centre Party candidate Reps received 26 votes, while Jõks, the joint candidate of the IRL and Free Party, received 25 votes.

Because none of the candidates secured the two-thirds majority required in the Riigikogu, at least 68 votes, no president was elected and a second round was held.

The second round took place the following day, on August 30. The Social Democrats and Reform Party put forward Siim Kallas as their candidate. Reps and Jõks stood again. Kallas received 45 votes, Reps 32 and Jõks 21, leaving the presidency undecided once more.

The third round was held on the same day. Only the two candidates who had received the most votes in the second round, Kallas and Reps, appeared on the ballot. Kallas received 42 votes and Reps 26, while 30 ballots were left blank.

As neither candidate secured sufficient support, the president was not elected in the Riigikogu and an electoral college was convened.

Failure was expected

Nestor, who was then chairman of the Riigikogu and stood as a candidate in the first parliamentary round, said nobody had any illusions that a candidate could obtain the necessary support in parliament.

“It became clear around the end of May that the elections would most likely fail in the Riigikogu,” Nestor said.

According to Nestor, parliamentary factions were unable to agree on a presidential candidate who could win cross-party support.

“Reform Party faction leader Urve Tiidus said that the Reform Party had two good candidates and asked: which one do you support? It was clear then that nothing would come of it. There was no attempt to find a candidate who could secure 68 votes,” Nestor said.

He described the first round in the Riigikogu as a compulsory round, saying it would have been extremely improper if there had been no candidates.

“All three of us, who had already travelled around Estonia throughout the summer knowing that we would not be elected, had to take part in that round,” Nestor said.

Two Reform Party candidates

Annika Arras, who ran Kallas’s campaign for the Reform Party, said the party was internally divided at the time. As a result, Marina Kaljurand, who was then foreign minister, was also seen as a possible presidential candidate.