TALLINN - Parliament on June 1 suspended a second reading of a bill on changing the presidential election procedure, thereby revealing strong party fears of direct presidential elections.
The proposal by the Social Democrats and Pro Patria Union to suspend the second reading of the bill was backed by 40 deputies - among them the People's Union and Reform Party, coalition members - while 37 lawmakers from the ruling Res Publica and oppositional Center Party voted for completing the reading.
The chairman of the standing constitutional committee, Urmas Reinsalu from Res Publica, said the results showed that parties voting against the second reading feared direct presidential elections because they lacked competent candidates.
"I'm hard put to it to find other reasons. It seems those parties do not have as good presidential candidates as our Ene Ergma," Reinsalu said. "We intend to return with the bill in the fall. As I see it, a referendum on constitutional amendments introducing direct election of the president should be held in the fall of 2005 together with local polls."
According to the current version of the bill, the president will be elected in a direct vote. A candidate can be nominated by at least 20,000 citizens eligible to vote. The nominee has to be a citizen by birth and at least 40 years of age.
A presidential candidate needs the support of at least half the voters to win. If none of the candidates collects the necessary number of votes, the two front-running candidates advance into a second round where a simple majority secures success.
The bill gives Parliament the right to remove the president from office in the event of a grave violation of the constitution or oath of office. The motion can be initiated by at least 51 members of the 101-strong chamber.
The voting of the Reform Party and People's Union against the reading did not come as a big surprise to Res Publica, Reinsalu said.
"They broke their promise also when the question was whether to hold the referendum simultaneously with European polls," he said. "If they consider the people too stupid to elect the president, then the people's opinion on whether or not they are for direct presidential elections must be asked."
Seventy-one members of Parliament initiated the bill last summer and the government has approved it.
