MP criticizes president for stance on poll

  • 2004-02-12
  • Baltic News Service
TALLINN - Toomas Varek, head of the opposition Center faction in the Parliament, claimed that President Arnold Ruutel interfered in party politics when he issued remarks in favor of closed lists in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament.

"I do think indeed that the president has interfered with our domestic politics in connection with the Europarliament elections and the handling of this bill," Varek said in his remarks to the Russian-language evening news on ETV.
The daily Postimees published on Feb. 9 an interview with President Arnold Ruutel, where the president said Parliament should think seriously whether it was appropriate to change the election system with so little time left until the polls, set to take place June 13.
Chairman of the People's Union Party Villu Reiljan rejected the accusations.
"The president is not just an observer," he said, adding that the president had to have a definite stance on the issue so that there would be no confusion in the lead-up to the poll.
The chairman of Parliament's constitutional committee, Res Publica MP Urmas Reinsalu, said the president, just like every Estonian, enjoyed the freedom of expression and freedom of conscience.
The Parliament was set to take a final vote on the much-debated bill introducing open lists at elections to the European Parliament on Feb. 11 when The Baltic Times went to press.
With open lists candidates are ranked in the election outcome exclusively by the number of votes without taking into account their position in the party ticket. Closed lists, on the other hand, give preference to the candidates higher up in the party's ticket.
Res Publica, Center Party, Moderates and Pro Patria Union favor open lists, whereas the People's Union and the Reform Party, or two of the three parties that make up the government coalition, want the present system of closed lists to be preserved.