"It is true that I will not run in the local elections. My work in the Riigikogu is related to security, foreign policy and defense, and the defense industry," Kaljulaid said.

Kaljulaid also confirmed that he had changed the district in which he is registered.

Estonia's local elections will take place on October 19. The SDE will run under its own name in relatively few municipalities, and is more likely to form part of electoral alliances.

Kaljulaid stood in Tallinn's first electoral district (Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinn and Kristiine) in the 2023 Riigikogu elections, where he was elected after receiving 18,17 votes.

In the 2021 local elections, Kaljulaid was the SDE's candidate for the role mayor of Tallinn. He received 1,579 votes in Põhja-Tallinn.

Kaljulaid has been a member of the Social Democratic Party since November 12, 2019. Prior to that, he was a member of the Center Party from 2001 to 2019.

More about the Kaljulaid's reasoning for not participating in the upcoming local elections can be found on ERR's Russian-language portal, which was the first to write about the topic, here (in Russian).

---

Follow ERR News on Facebook, Bluesky and X and never miss an update!