Some party leaders may skip Estonia’s largest electoral district

Some parties’ prime ministerial candidates may run outside the Harju and Rapla electoral district in the upcoming parliamentary elections, ERR reports. The district traditionally attracts party leaders and other leading candidates because it offers the possibility of winning the most seats.

So far, Social Democratic Party prime ministerial candidate Jonatan Vseviov, Isamaa leader Urmas Reinsalu and Right-Wingers leader Lavly Perling have said they will run in the district. All three are also their parties’ likely candidates for prime minister.

EKRE will be represented there by Siim Pohlak, while its prime ministerial candidate, Martin Helme, will run in the Mustamäe and Nõmme electoral district in Tallinn. Henn Põlluaas, who previously ran in Harju and Rapla for EKRE, has since moved to Isamaa.

Centre Party leader Mihhail Kõlvart, the party’s likely prime ministerial candidate, ran in the Tallinn electoral district covering the city centre, Lasnamäe and Pirita in the previous election. He told ERR that he may have to run in Harju and Rapla if the party cannot find a suitable leading candidate there.

It is also unclear whether Prime Minister and Reform Party leader Kristen Michal will run in the district. The party’s decision may depend on whether Defence Minister Martin Herem runs in the election. If he does, the party will need to find him a strong electoral position, as several of its senior politicians have recently announced they are leaving politics.

Social Democratic Party leader Lauri Läänemets will head the party’s list in the Järva and Viljandi electoral district.

Estonia 200 communications director Johannes Merilai said the party was still preparing for the election and it was too early to say who would run where. In the previous election, Lauri Hussar led the party’s list in Harju and Rapla, while party leader Kristina Kallas ran in Tartu.

Former Reform Party leader and former prime minister Kaja Kallas won a record 31,816 votes in Harju and Rapla. Several other party leaders have also received their party’s highest vote totals in the district.

The Reform Party has said it will announce its leading candidates for the electoral districts during November. Other parties are expected to announce theirs towards the end of the year or early next year. Parliamentary elections will be held in March next year.