On Thursday, 39 MPs from the Center Party faction and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) of the Tallinn City Council submitted a motion of no confidence to Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski, declaring that the principle of secret elections had been ignored in the mayoral elections. , which made him influence and pressure the commissioners.
Chairman of the Central Party group of the Tallinn City Council enter Kalle Klandorf according to him, one of the main principles of the elections – the principle of secrecy – was violated in the mayoral elections of Tallinn last Sunday. “The third round of the mayoral election was not secret because the four groups used a code on the ballot to determine if their members voted according to the agreement,” Klandorf said. the members of the Tallinn City Council who signed the motion of no confidence believe that Jevgeni Ossinovski is able to continue as the mayor of Tallinn.
“Elections must be free, which means that one must be able to vote according to one’s free will without pressure or hindrance. Elections must be confidential and the proxy must be able to exercise free command. The evidence of the violation of these principles is clear, obvious and irrefutable. From looking at the ballots of the third round of voting, it follows that the four political parties in the ruling alliance have used the identification of the ballots during the voting to understand how the members of these groups vote. This created an opportunity to influence the commissioners at the break of the voting rounds,” said the chairman of the Center Party group.
“With each vote, the number of votes was different, which shows the influence and pressure on the commissioners. If the fourth round had also taken place, the people who did not vote for the mayoral candidate Yevgeni Ossinovski could have already been identified. There are multiple reports and evidence that delegates also took pictures of their ballots during the vote on Sunday,” said Klandorf.
He said that the Electoral Commission of the Republic has emphasized for the last time in 2023 that taking a photo of the ballot paper and distributing that photo is against the principle of electoral secrecy and allow people to be stressed. “On the basis of this case, parallels can be made with elections held in dictatorial countries, where they are not ashamed to use even the dirtiest means to achieve a result,” Klandorf said.
“Based on the above, the signatories condemn the disregard for the principle of secret elections. The mayor elected in this way has no confidence in the Tallinn City Council, or in the eyes of the citizens of Tallinn. This kind of activity undermines the trust of the city dwellers in the city of Tallinn. The capital of Estonia can be governed by a mayor who is elected according to the principles of European democracy. It is impossible that the mayor, who was elected by dishonest means and got his position in this way, continues in the government of the city of Tallinn,” found Klandorf.
Social Democrat Jevgeni Ossinovski received 38 votes in the first round of voting in the Tallinn City Council on Sunday and was not elected. In the second round of voting, Ossinovski received the support of 39 deputies. Only on the third attempt, Ossinovski collected 41 votes in the 79-member Tallinn council and was elected.
BNS
