New Narva coalition sets the stage for power shakeup next month
A new coalition in Narva has signaled it now has the votes to take power, paving the way for a change in leadership in the northeastern border city next month.
At Thursday's Narva City Council session, the Center Party and the Plan B–Narva City Pulse electoral alliance demonstrated their new majority, moving with 16 votes to trim the agenda and sideline key issues, including proposed raises for city council chair Mihhail Stalnuhhin and deputy city council chair Jana Kondrašova.
The move marks the start of a long-prepared shift that would replace the current coalition led by Mayor Katri Raik. If completed this time, former mayor Jaan Toots (Center) is expected to return to the post, with Plan B's Urbo Vaarmann poised to take over as city council chair.
"There should be no pay for this kind of work," said Vaarmann. He acknowledged that if you form a coalition, it's the coalition's job to secure its own pay, but added that if someone has worked without pay for half a year already, they could have stepped down a long time ago already.
"[Stalnuhhin] clearly understands that power is shifting," Vaarmann noted.
The city council chair said he will not block the no-confidence process, but does not intend to expedite it either. If a regular session is not called in time, an extraordinary session must be held by May 25
Stalnuhhin said he will not block the process but does not intend to speed it up. If a regular meeting is not called, an extraordinary meeting must be held by May 25 under council rules.
Center Party group chair Aleksei Jevgrafov said a Center-Plan B coalition agreement is nearly complete and will be made public next week.
The emerging coalition secured its majority after ex-Respect councilmember Ivan Egorov switched sides, joining the populist movement Plan B's city council group.
This gives the Plan B–Narva City Pulse alliance five seats and the Center Party 11, enough to narrowly control the 31-member council.
Narva's current ruling coalition consists of the Raik-led electoral alliance Respect and Stalnuhhin's Narva 2.0 alliance.
Prosecutors rule out investigation
The Prosecutor's Office said they will not launch a criminal investigation into Jevgrafov or Toots following a complaint from Stalnuhhin tied to the dispute.
A counter-complaint filed by Jevgrafov against Stalnuhhin and Kondrašova remains under review.
The complaints, filed with both the Prosecutor's Office and the Internal Security Service (ISS), allege corruption, including bribery and influence peddling.
Mihhail Stalnuhhin was elected chair of Narva City Council and Jana Kondrašova deputy council chair on December 2 last year, but the city council has yet to approve salaries for either post.
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Editor: Märten Hallismaa, Johanna Alvin, Aili Vahtla
