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Estonia fails to elect head of state in presidential vote
Original Publication Date: August 28, 2016 10:35PM
Publication Updated: April 27, 2025 7:00PM
TALLINN, Estonia – Estonia’s presidential election is heading into a second round Tuesday after no candidate got the required two-thirds majority in a parliamentary vote.
Lawmakers are trying to pick a successor to President Toomas Hendrik Ilves whose second and final term expires in October.
None of the three candidates received the 68 votes required to win in Monday’s secret ballot in the 101-seat Parliament.
Parliamentary Speaker Eiki Nestor got 40 votes, Former Education Minister Mailis Reps got 26 votes and former Chancellor of Justice Allar Joks received 25 votes. The other lawmakers abstained or were absent.
A second, and a possibly third, round of voting will be held Tuesday.
Estonia’s ruling three-party coalition has been divided over who should become the next president, a mostly ceremonial post.
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