Uibo says he will not run in next parliamentary election

Toomas Uibo, head of the Eesti 200 parliamentary faction, does not plan to run in the next parliamentary election, he said in a social media comment on Thursday, ERR reported.

“I would rather focus on the 2031 election,” Uibo told ERR. He said Eesti 200 had taken steps that were painful and unpopular but necessary for Estonia, adding that their effects would come later. He said he hoped people would eventually recognise this and added that he was concerned about the rise of populism.

Uibo was elected to parliament in 2023 after receiving 2,420 votes in the Harju and Rapla electoral district.

In July, fellow Eesti 200 MP Irja Lutsar said she was highly unlikely to run in the next parliamentary election and would probably return to scientific work. Lutsar received 3,523 votes in the 2023 election in the Jõgeva and Tartu electoral district.

In June, Eesti 200 leader Kristina Kallas said she expected all 13 of the party’s MPs to run again, saying they had gained strong political experience over four years. A recent weekly poll by the Institute of Social Research and Norstat Estonia put Eesti 200’s support at 1.2 percent.