At Thursday's expanded meeting of the Council of Elders, representatives of the Riigikogu parties discussed the upcoming presidential election. While no agreement was reached on a potential joint candidate, it was decided that Riigikogu Speaker Lauri Hussar (Eesti 200) would first communicate with Karis.

"It is only human to hear the sitting president's opinion and whether he is willing to run again," said Reform Party faction chair Õnne Pillak.

"The president of the Riigikogu will speak with the president and then we can see how to proceed. We still have time. This is such an important decision that it is worth taking the time to find consensus among the parties so that the decision is unified," she said.

Isamaa chair Urmas Reinsalu said his proposal had been to first determine whether the parliamentary parties were willing to support Karis and then approach Karis to ask whether he would agree to continue in office.

"But to my surprise, some parties were not willing to support that. We were speaking only about the incumbent president and it is reasonable to first form a position on that issue," Reinsalu said.

According to Reinsalu, Isamaa believes that Karis is the president capable of restoring trust in society during a difficult time.

"Isamaa's view is that we are prepared to support Karis if he has the backing of parliament and if he himself expresses his consent," Reinsalu said.

Electoral College to possibly convene September 26

Key dates for the presidential election were also set at the Council of Elders meeting. The three possible rounds of voting in the Riigikogu will take place on September 2 and 3. If the president is not elected in parliament, the Electoral College will convene at the Estonia Concert Hall on September 26, Hussar said.

According to Hussar, the parties also discussed whether to establish specific criteria for presidential candidates; it was jointly decided that no such criteria would be set. "Rather, we will proceed with substantive discussions and see how it is possible to find candidates," he said.

Hussar noted that several factions at the meeting ruled out setting fixed expectations for presidential candidates.

Center Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart said the goal is to find a candidate — and not only among the opposition, but across the Riigikogu as a whole.

"Today, people expect a message of stability and unity from the Riigikogu and that opportunity exists. If the parliamentary factions can agree on who our joint candidate is, it would be a major achievement and a message to society," he said.

According to Kõlvart, the starting point should be each party's position on Karis.

"Each party could publicly position itself on this issue. It would be honest toward people to say whether the current president is suitable or not," he said.

"It seemed to me that Karis was able to unite people, his popularity is very high, and if the Riigikogu could send a message that public opinion matters — that we are able to elect a president together — it would be a very important message," Kõlvart added.

EKRE head: We learned parties have very different expectations

EKRE leader Martin Helme said the party did not veto any candidates at the meeting, but made it clear to the other parties that EKRE's votes would not be available to support a second term for Karis.

"Of course, every party has its own expectations of the office of president. It became clear around the table that those expectations are very different. Some parties want a much stronger role for the president in foreign policy; we would expect a stronger role from the president in delivering or setting domestic messages. But for us, the most important role of the president is as the guardian of the Constitution," Helme said.

According to Helme, finding a joint candidate among six parties is impossible. Since the coalition alone cannot elect a president either in the Riigikogu or in the Electoral College, compromises are necessary, he noted.

"That means no one party will get its ideal candidate, but everyone has the opportunity to prevent or slow the advancement of a candidate they find unacceptable. In terms of the process, that means a constant search for compromise. We are at the beginning of that compromise process," Helme said.

SDE deputy chair: Other candidates cannot be ruled out

Social Democratic Party deputy chair Tanel Kiik said the meeting concluded that Karis is certainly a strong and dignified candidate, though other candidates cannot be ruled out.

"In order to be able to move forward at all, we will also map out the president's own position — whether he is willing and under what conditions he would be prepared to run for a second term — because so far he has been rather skeptical or not clearly affirmative on the matter," Kiik said.

According to Kiik, the Social Democrats have never ruled out supporting Karis for a second term.

"The incumbent head of state is certainly a very strong candidate — one could even say he has the status of a frontrunner — but in a situation where very strong competence in foreign and security policy is needed, we must also consider other candidates. Especially given that, frankly speaking, the current government led by the prime minister is not as strong and visible internationally in foreign and security policy as her predecessor Kaja Kallas was," Kiik said.

Eesti 200 faction chair: Votes to immediately endorse Karis not there

Eesti 200 faction chair Toomas Uibo said that when the question was raised at the meeting whether any party would rule out Karis continuing in office, it turned out there was no such party.

"But that does not mean there are automatically votes behind this president. I hope we reach the point where we elect the president in the Riigikogu, which has also been Eesti 200's preference so far," he said.

Asked whether Eesti 200 supports Karis continuing in office, Uibo replied that it also depends on who the opposing candidates would be, if any are found.

"To give those votes directly to Alar Karis without hesitation — I think we do not have that level of support today," Uibo said.

The article was updated to add comments from EKRE, SDE and Eesti 200 representatives.

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