Estonia's president is elected by the parliament, not directly by the public. A candidate needs to win at least 68 votes from the 101-seat Riigikogu.

Reform Party secretary general Kristo Enn Vaga told ERR's "Aktuaalne kaamera" that the Social Democrats, the Reform and Eesti 200 support Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise's candidacy. The three parties have 66 votes between them, in theory.

"At least three" unaligned MPs would also be willing to support Madise, he added.

"And by simple arithmetic, that makes 69 votes in total. I can't speak for the others. And between us, some MPs from both the Center Party and Isamaa have said that they too would support Ülle Madise. On paper, there are more than 68 votes," Vaga said.

The MPs who are not part of parliamentary groups held discussions on Friday. Tõnis Mölder said that while Ülle Madise is a strong candidate, the unaffiliated MPs will wait to see whether candidates might also be put forward by Isamaa or the Center Party.

"And if no additional candidates emerge from there and Ülle Madise gives her consent, even informally, to run as a presidential candidate, then we are ready to meet with her and form our position. We will wait for Tuesday's meeting of the Council of Elders and after that we will meet again to discuss a common position," Mölder said.

On Thursday, Eesti 200 chair Kristina Kallas said Madise has 67 votes, as MP Züleyxa Izmailova, who left Eesti 200 and joined the Social Democrats, does not support her candidacy.

Izmailova said that as the vote takes place by secret ballot, the election of the president will not depend on her. However, she believes there must be discussion before the vote rather than pressure on the opposition to make a quick choice.

"In my assessment, this is simply an attempt to divert attention from the coalition's own inability to manage this process, and I am not at all convinced that the alleged votes and signatures they say they have actually exist," Izmailova said.

Vaga said the members of the three parliamentary groups would vote for Madise if she agreed to run, and they also want to collect at least 68 signatures to nominate her as a candidate.

"Everyone can of course act according to their conscience. Ülle Madise has been Chancellor of Justice for 11 years, everyone knows her and is familiar with her, and she is seriously considering it," he said.

The first round of the election is on September 2.

--

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