Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 31 August 2016: Presidential elections in Estonia: Parliament once again fails to choose a new president

Estonia's presidential elections took place between Monday and Tuesday, and an electoral college was supposed to pick up the new head of the state, but none of the contenders reached the necessary number of votes. The former Prime Minister Sim Kallas and former Education Minister Mailis Reps failed to ensure the required two-thirds majority of the parliament (consisting of 101 seats), following two rounds of voting. According to the law, the speaker of the Riigikogu will assemble an electoral body consisting of 101 MPs and 234 representatives of local government councils for the final election.

The vote is planned for Sept 24, and a majority of just over 50 percent is enough to win. The winner will replace the liberal President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who served for 5 years.