EKRE, Centre Party and Isamaa seek no-confidence vote in Pärnu mayor

EKRE, the Centre Party and Isamaa have submitted a no-confidence motion against Pärnu Mayor Kristel Voltenberg, ERR reported. The three parties are holding coalition talks in the city.

The motion was submitted at an extraordinary meeting of Pärnu City Council, which lasted 15 minutes and had one item on its agenda. Although the meeting was legally convened, the procedure drew criticism because the agenda item was not considered urgent and was seen as a pretext for calling the meeting.

“The reason was that the current coalition ended its work,” Pärnu City Council Chairman Andrei Korobeinik of the Centre Party said. He said Voltenberg first left the coalition, followed by EKRE, while the Centre Party later accepted Isamaa’s proposal to form a new coalition.

“If the negotiations are successful, this coalition will take over after the next council meeting, where the no-confidence vote will take place and a new city government will be elected,” Korobeinik said.

Voltenberg said she had not heard any substantive criticism of her work. “On the contrary, the chairman of the council, Andrei Korobeinik, who submitted this no-confidence motion, has said in several interviews that the mayor has done a good job,” she said.

Korobeinik said he had been required to call the meeting after receiving a request from council members. He rejected claims that the procedure was a legal loophole or manipulation, saying the next regular council meeting would not take place until mid-September.

The no-confidence vote on Voltenberg is scheduled for August 17.