"The Riigikogu Board has no involvement whatsoever in the decision to terminate the employment of a Chancellery official, as personnel decisions of the Riigikogu Chancellery fall exclusively within the authority of the director of the Chancellery and the Board has given no instructions on this matter. Therefore, the conclusions of the proceedings can also only be commented on by the director of the Chancellery who made the decision," Indrek Tarand, an adviser to Lauri Hussar, told ERR.

Hussar himself did not respond to ERR's questions but has sent an explanation to members of the Riigikogu highlighting the same points. In it, he writes that he has asked the director of the Chancellery to provide members of the Riigikogu with a comprehensive written explanation on this matter

Chancellery head denies political motive

Antero Habicht, director of the Riigikogu Chancellery, also wrote in a letter sent to members of the Riigikogu that the dismissal of the adviser was not politically motivated.

"First, I would like to sincerely thank you for enabling the Chancellery's staff over the years to remain professional and clearly non-political. I state unequivocally that there was not the slightest political motive in the decision to terminate the service relationship of the official in question. The sole aim of the decision was to ensure that the Chancellery continues to employ officials whose work is reliable and professional," Habicht noted.

"In this case, it was a loss of trust that arose from a combination of several factors: a substantive error made during the processing of a draft law, publicly blaming others for that error and disregarding established internal procedures regarding the obligation to inform. It was precisely this combination of circumstances that led to a situation where the relationship of trust could no longer be restored," Habicht explained.

"I believe that, in the interests of both the current and future compositions of the Riigikogu, ensuring high-quality and reliable lawmaking requires that the head of the institution be prepared to make even unpopular decisions. Lengthy service or personal sympathy cannot replace the quality of one's work and responsibility for one's role. Making mistakes is human, but it is equally important to be willing to take responsibility and learn from them," he added.

Isamaa MP: Members of the Riigikogu to move for the official's reinstatement

Aivar Kokk, a member of the Isamaa group in the Riigikogu and of the parliament's Finance Committee, will begin collecting signatures from Monday to submit a request to reinstate the dismissed adviser to their position.

"I think this is a very shameful case that has taken place in the Riigikogu. This is a person who has done their work very diligently for 32 years; I have also had the honor of working with them as chair of the Economic Affairs Committee. They have always been very thorough and today they are being accused of something for which they are not at all responsible," Kokk said.

"Certainly, today members of the Riigikogu will turn to the Board and the Chancellery with a request to reinstate this person," Kokk added.

"I think this is the point where all members of the Riigikogu must consider for themselves whether they want someone's job to be determined politically. We need to have the ability to approach the lawyers and officials of various committees when we want to make an amendment or submit a draft law. They have the experience, but who would want to come and help us if there is a risk that something might go wrong. Everyone makes mistakes, but in this case the mistake was not made by the official; the draft was submitted in the form in which it was adopted. The error already existed when the draft was handed over to the Riigikogu," Kokk said.

The Riigikogu Chancellery recently dismissed, as a result of disciplinary proceedings, a long-serving adviser who had worked on the draft Gambling Tax Act an error in which ended up costing the state millions of euros.

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