In November, sitting Mayor Katri Raik's electoral list inked a coalition deal with a list headed by former Center Party MP Mihhail Stalnuhhin, together holding 16 seats on the 31-seat council.

But on Friday, Narva City Council was unable to appoint the city government after one member of the ruling coalition failed to appear, and the votes ended in a tie.

A new attempt to appoint the city government will be made on January 22.

The opposition said a coalition with such a slim majority cannot govern the city.

"The city government cannot function if there is no clear majority in the council. In Narva, a clear majority means around 18, 19, or 20 votes. Life always brings situations where someone gets sick, someone has to travel, someone's child is seriously ill — but if the coalition stands at 16–15, then this is already a circus," said Jaan Toots, a member of the Center Party faction.

Urbo Vaarmann, representing Plan B on the Narva City Council, said that things cannot go on like this in Narva.

"Madam Mayor [Katri Raik] could come and join us, form a joint coalition, but today it's clear that 15–16 votes won't hold. They themselves scheduled the session for January 2 and could not even manage to bring it together properly, and the results are visible today," Vaarmann said.

Raik was once again unable to answer whether a coalition in Narva exists or not.

"Going forward, efforts will be made to rally the ranks. I'm sure various negotiations will take place. It doesn't bring honor to our politics or political culture, but here we are today. The current city government bears its responsibility and is doing its best for the city of Narva," she said.

In addition to appointing the city government, the council was also supposed to confirm the composition of its committees. Of the seven committees, only two were successfully formed. 

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!