Politicians call for changes to Estonia’s presidential powers and election

Estonian politicians want to review both the president’s role and the way the head of state is elected, ERR reported, as Ülle Madise prepares to take office on Monday.

Isamaa politician Kristjan Järvan said the president’s exclusive authority to declare a state of war should be reconsidered. If the president were unavailable or unable to decide, he said, there was no other mechanism to declare one.

Reform Party politician Madis Timpson called for changes to the presidential election law. If parliament fails to elect a president, the election should move to an electoral college and not return to parliament, he said. The candidate who receives the most votes in the college should become president.

Anti Poolamets, a member of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) parliamentary group, said direct elections would give the president greater decision-making powers. He also argued that the president should have more independent scope in foreign policy rather than being treated as an extension of the Foreign Ministry.

Social Democratic Party leader Lauri Läänemets cautioned that direct elections would probably result in a politician becoming president. He said a president who oversees the system from above party politics and takes a broader view would better fit the constitution.

Madise attended an ecumenical harvest festival service at Tallinn’s Cathedral of Saint Mary on Sunday. Her swearing-in ceremony at parliament is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on Monday.