Entrepreneur withdraws Tallinn mayoral bid before local elections
Entrepreneur Urmas Sõõrumaa has decided to withdraw a bid for mayor of Tallinn ahead of the local elections, but will still run in the elections on the Reform Party's list.
"Urmas Sõõrumaa informed our Tallinn faction and leadership of this today," Reform's Õnne Pillak told ERR.
She said Sõõrumaa explained that he wanted to help resolve the power struggle in the capital, but withdrew after feeling that people had begun to misinterpret his intentions. Pillak added that Sõõrumaa would share more detailed explanations at a press conference at 2 p.m.
However, she confirmed that Sõõrumaa will be a candidate in the local elections on the Reform Party's list in Tallinn, meaning he will be seeking a mandate in the elections.
The Reform Party published a statement from Sõõrumaa on its website, in which he said that the decision was not an easy one but was carefully considered and made responsibly.
"I proposed a technocratic model of city governance, which I believe in. That idea found support even among our harshest critics, but unfortunately, it was not enough, as the proposal became overshadowed by suspicions of some kind of secret agreement—which does not exist and will not happen. I do not want this to turn into a kind of covert coalition between the Reform Party and the Center Party. That is not in line with my principles or those of the Reform Party. You cannot lead a city under a cloud of suspicion," Sõõrumaa added.
The Reform Party's Tallinn regional board and faction announced that they continue to hold the view that, under the leadership of current mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE), city governance has failed. As a result, the party plans to vote in favor of a no-confidence motion against the mayor at the next city council meeting.
As recently as Tuesday, Sõõrumaa had said he wanted to establish a technocratic city government in Tallinn, meaning one that would exclude active politicians.
On Wednesday, he confirmed that he would not include current Reform Party deputy mayors Pärtel-Peeter Pere and Viljar Jaamu in the new city government.
This would have seen the Reform Party back a no-confidence motion against Ossinovski in next week's city council session and, with the Center Party's support, installed Sõõrumaa as mayor until the elections.
There would have been no formal coalition agreement or joint city government, but the Center Party had been willing, under certain conditions, to support Sõõrumaa's city administration in the city council until the elections.
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Editor: Helen Wright
