"Ülle Madise has now essentially declared herself a presidential candidate because she is bargaining with the Riigikogu to secure cross-party support. She does not have that support, because at the very least our party does not support her election," Helme wrote on social media.

"At the same time, she has a very serious conflict of interest by indicating that she wants the support of all parties while serving as chancellor of justice, who oversees the work of parliament," he said, adding that such a conflict of roles could result in the election result being challenged in court if Madise is elected.

The EKRE chair said Madise's potential candidacy creates a bad impression.

"The chancellor of justice is playing a game in which she acts as though she is not a candidate, thereby avoiding the debate and heightened media and public scrutiny that should be a matter of course for someone seeking high office. At the same time, she is consistently signaling that she is interested in the office, provided the votes for her are already secured," Helme said.

He said Madise has systematically passed up opportunities to say that she will not run and is not interested in doing so. "Today (Saturday — ed.), she once again confirmed that she is interested in the presidency, except that she wants to see sufficient support first."

"This kind of game allows her to pop up as a candidate at the last minute and, assuming the votes are indeed secured, walk straight in through the back door of Kadriorg. As I said, all of this is very poor form and flagrantly at odds with the basic principles of democracy," the EKRE chair added.

Helme said EKRE is the only party to have approached the presidential election seriously and professionally, while also treating voters with respect. He emphasized that the party nominated Mart Helme as its candidate in the spring.

"I continue to urge people to support Estonia's only official presidential candidate, Mart Helme," he concluded.

Eesti 200 Chair Kristina Kallas said Thursday that Madise currently has the support of 67 members of the Riigikogu and that Züleyxa Izmailova, who left Eesti 200 and joined the Social Democrats, does not support Madise. Izmailova, however, told ERR that the vote is secret and that she would not stand in the way of electing a president.

The Riigikogu's Council of Elders will discuss the presidential election Tuesday.

At least 21 members of the Riigikogu are required to nominate a presidential candidate. A candidate would need at least 68 votes to be elected president by the Riigikogu.

Key dates:

• Aug. 21-24: Candidate nominations
• Sept. 2: First round of voting in the Riigikogu
• Sept. 3: Second and third rounds of voting in the Riigikogu, if necessary

--

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