Luunja opposition challenges likely new mayor after council chair resigns

The opposition in Luunja municipality in Tartu County has criticised the local leadership after council chair Kaimo Keerdo resigned, with acting mayor Radž Sauk emerging as the likely successor, ERR reports. The coalition says the opposition should instead examine its own record from when its electoral alliance held sole power in the municipality.

The leadership crisis followed the dismissal of the Luunja secondary school head in August. The mayor at the time was subsequently removed in a no-confidence vote. An acting mayor has led the municipality in recent months. Keerdo, who belongs to Isamaa, resigned voluntarily several days ago and was not ready to comment on Monday.

Sauk, an Isamaa supporter, said the situation was lawful and that the municipality was expected to elect a new mayor and council chair on Wednesday. He has agreed to become mayor and is considered the likely choice. Sauk said all four coalition partners had proposed candidates, and that after hearing another candidate, they decided he should continue in the role for the next three years. Sauk previously chaired the council.

Kaire Vahejõe, a council member from the opposition alliance Luunja Hooandjad, said the group was unhappy with how events had unfolded and did not believe Sauk would move the municipality forward. She said that when Sauk chaired the council, he failed to secure external funding and his leadership style was “extremely strange”. She also said the current coalition had agreed last year that the mayor should come from outside the municipality and have no political affiliation.

Sauk called the opposition’s accusations malicious and said it could put forward its own mayoral candidate at the council meeting. He said Hooandjad, which held sole power in the municipality during the previous term, should explain some of its past decisions, whose benefits to the municipality he questioned. Sauk also said the alliance expected special treatment for a village association and wanted to be above the rules. He added that the municipal audit committee had referred some matters to law enforcement authorities.

Vahejõe rejected the coalition’s accusations, saying they were unfounded and intended to divert attention from current problems. She said Luunja had enjoyed a strong reputation under Hooandjad’s leadership, had secured substantial external funding and had not faced as many court cases as it does now.