"Supporting the nomination of a candidate and voting for that candidate in the presidential election are two completely different things. Supporting Tiit Land's nomination does not mean an obligation to vote for him later. It means creating an opportunity to have at least two viable candidates whose positions can be compared publicly," Kiili explained.

At least 21 MPs are needed to nominate a presidential candidate.

Kiili stressed that the goal of unaffiliated MPs should not be to push through any particular candidate. He said the immediate objective should be very simple: Estonia should get the best possible president, and for that to happen, there first needs to be a genuine choice.

"An election means having candidates to choose between. A process with only one candidate may formally comply with the rules, but it does not provide a meaningful choice. Having at least two candidates would create an opportunity for debate and compel the candidates to explain their understanding of the president's role and Estonia's future," Kiili said.

In his view, presidential candidates should be assessed, among other things, on how they understand the president's role as a balancing force in the political system, supreme commander of national defense, a unifying figure in society and Estonia's representative in foreign and economic relations. The future president must also understand the importance of education, the information space and energy security to Estonia's long-term survival and security.

Kiili said the procedure for electing the president should also be revisited after the presidential election.

Meelis Kiili, formerly a member of the Reform Party, announced on August 10 that he had decided to leave the party and continue serving in the Riigikogu as an unaffiliated MP. Shortly before Kiili, Kalev Stoicescu announced his departure from Eesti 200. This, in addition to effectively leaving Estonia with a minority government, brought the number of MPs unaffiliated with a parliamentary group in the Riigikogu to 20. However, only nine of them have not affiliated themselves with any political party.

Isamaa and the Center Party, which are considering supporting Land's nomination, have eight and seven members in their parliamentary groups, respectively, for a total of 15. Adding MPs who do not belong to those parliamentary groups but have joined the parties would give them another four votes, bringing the total to 19 — two short of the number needed to nominate Land.

That means at least two additional votes from independent unaffiliated MPs would be needed. Stoicescu, for example, who initially supported Ülle Madise, has already indicated that he may also support Land. If both he and Kiili were to do so, Land would have the 21 signatures needed for his nomination.

Stoicescu said Thursday that MPs who do not belong to a Riigikogu parliamentary group, commonly known as unaffiliated MPs, will meet with Land on Friday and with Ülle Madise on Monday. He said he will decide after the meetings which candidate's nomination he will sign in support of.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise remains the potential presidential candidate with the best chances, having secured the backing of 55 MPs from the Reform Party, Eesti 200 and Social Democratic Party groups as at Wednesday evening, according to Riigikogu Deputy Speaker Toomas Kivimägi.

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

The article was updated to add a comment from Kalev Stoicescu.

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