Estonia fails to elect next head of state

The Estonian electoral college on Saturday failed to elect a new president as neither Siim Kallas nor Allar Joks making the necessary majority of votes, according to Estonian Broadcasting Corporation (ERR).

The election now passes on back to the Riigikogu, the Estonian parliament, with the results that Kallas winning 138 votes, Joks getting 134 votes while blank votes is 57 and invalid votes is three.

Both candidates failed to get 167 votes, which would have been necessary for election, the ERR report said on Saturday evening.

The election will now go back to the same Riigikogu that previously proved incapable of electing a president.

Kallas declared prior to Saturday's election that he wouldn't run anymore should the task be passed back to parliament. Assuming that Kallas won't change his mind, this will leave the Reform Party without a candidate.

Talking to ERR reporter, Kallas said Estonia had entered a constitutional crisis, and the system definitely needed to be changed.

Joks said he was satisfied with his result, but not happy. Asked if he would be a candidate in the now upcoming second election in the Riigikogu, Joks said he wouldn't run anymore.

Asked if he had expected Saturday's result, President of the Riigikogu Eiki Nestor, who presided over the two unsuccessful voting rounds, said that he had been certain that they would elect a president today.

The Riigikogu will make the next attempt at choosing President Toomas Hendrik Ilves' successor on Oct. 3 this year, after the failed rounds of elections since early September.

The next rounds in the Riigikogu will require a repetition of the already known procedure of candidates gathering 21 personal nominations, for which at least some of the parties will have to find new candidates, or agree on a common candidate with each other. Endit