Current law does not allow city council members to convene a council session on their own initiative. Only the council chair can call a session. In Narva, City Council Chairman Mihhail Stalnuhhin has repeatedly postponed regular sessions and rejected opposition no-confidence motions.

At the same time, the coalition no longer has a working majority, as the opposition controls more seats on the council. The opposition therefore decided to end the political deadlock by taking control of the city's leadership.

The opposition argues that a Supreme Court ruling from roughly 20 years ago supports the legality of a self-convened session. An amendment to the law that would explicitly allow such sessions is due to take effect in about a month, but opposition members said they could not afford to wait any longer.

"The new amendment to the Local Government Organization Act would allow us to convene the council ourselves, but we would still have had to wait another 30 days. That would have pushed everything into August. City business is at a standstill. We still have not adopted a supplementary budget and we do not agree with the way money is currently being spent. That's why we acted today. We had no other choice," Jaan Toots (Center Party) said.

Toots was elected mayor and Urbo Vaarmann was elected chair of the City Council with the support of opposition members only. Coalition councilors did not attend the session, saying it was illegal. As a result, Narva effectively now has two people claiming to be mayor and two people claiming to be council chair. The process of transferring power is expected to begin on Tuesday.

"City Hall staff will follow the mayor who was elected with 16 votes. Katri Raik was removed with the support of the same 16 council members. That is the reality," Toots said.

"It is no secret that the other side is ignoring the will of the majority — 16 council members. They have said they will not hand over responsibilities, although at other times they have said they will. Mihhail Stalnuhhin has also said he will not vacate his office. So tomorrow will be interesting. We'll see what happens," Vaarmann said.

If the transfer of power does not succeed, the opposition plans to ask the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs to intervene. So far, the national government has not taken a clear position on the dispute over power in Narva.

Ousted mayor: Legal clarity from the ministry needed

Narva Mayor Katri Raik told ERR Tuesday morning that she will be meeting Jaan Toots at 9:30 a.m. and that the latter has promised to produce papers proving he's the new mayor.

Raik described the way things are done in Narva as mud wrestling, which has been going on for a long time, with no end in sight.

"It's very unfortunate. A year ago, I jokingly said that the only thing worse than the current council would be the next one, and that turned out to be true. We have an exceptionally difficult council composition where the balance will likely remain 16-15 and power may change hands several times. That is certainly not good for the city's stable development, especially given that Narva is a sensitive place," Raik said.

"We need legal clarity and that will probably have to come from the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs. Of course, the majority also has the right to take power. At some point in late June, a council session will take place where properly submitted no-confidence motions can be presented and then voted on in July."

Raik declined to comment in detail on the dysfunction within the council, saying questions about the council's operations should be directed to City Council Chair Mihhail Stalnuhhin. However, she acknowledged that she is unhappy with his recent conduct, particularly the repeated cancellation of council sessions.

Raik said she continues to work with Stalnuhhin because he keeps his word and understands how politics works.

"My choices in politics have always been fairly limited and, unfortunately, my cooperation with the Center Party has not been particularly positive. Aleksei Jevgrafov has great difficulty keeping his word and telling the truth. Urbo Vaarmann, forgive me for saying so, is a criminal in my eyes and I do not work with criminals. We are completely incompatible," Raik said, adding that Narva cannot return to the 1990s.

"Stalnuhhin's views on the war in Ukraine, Putin and other issues are unacceptable to me. But those views have nothing to do with building a new kindergarten, constructing a new school, designing a swimming pool, building a nursing home, improving dormitories or the day-to-day issues we deal with," Raik said. She added that, among the available options, Stalnuhhin remains the best partner for governing Narva.

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