Estonia's 2001 election: coalition's failure to unite let Rüütel win the presidency
In 2001, after Estonia's parliament failed to elect a president in three rounds, the vote moved to the electoral college, where Arnold Rüütel won because the ruling coalition could not agree on a single joint candidate.
At the time, Estonia was governed by Mart Laar's second cabinet, a coalition of the Pro Patria Union, the Reform Party and the Moderates, holding only 53 of 101 seats in the Riigikogu. This made electing a president in parliament unlikely from the start.
In the first two rounds of voting in the Riigikogu, opposition candidate Peeter Kreitzberg faced coalition-backed candidates — first Andres Tarand, then Peeter Tulviste, nominated by Pro Patria Union. Neither side secured enough votes even in a third round, sending the election to the electoral college.
Electoral college vote
On September 21, the first round featured Kreitzberg, Arnold Rüütel (nominated by the People's Union), Toomas Savi and Tulviste. Rüütel led with 114 votes, not enough to win outright. Savi advanced to the second round with 90 votes, edging out Tulviste by just one vote.
In the second round, held the same day with 366 electors participating, Rüütel received 186 votes to Savi's 155, with 23 ballots declared invalid. Even if all invalid ballots had gone to Savi, it would not have changed the outcome. Rüütel secured more than half the votes and was elected president.
Sharp rivalry within the coalition
Rain Rosimannus, who led Savi's campaign, recalled that competition between parties was so fierce that neither Rüütel nor Savi could gather the 21 votes needed to be nominated in the Riigikogu itself. He said Rüütel benefited from an agreement between People's Union leader Villu Reiljan and Edgar Savisaar that secured him extra votes from the Centre Party.
Tulviste's campaign manager, Tõnis Aro, said the three coalition parties had discussed backing one joint candidate against Rüütel, but the agreement was not properly honored. Aro believed Tulviste would have had better chances against Rüütel than Savi did.
On October 8, 2001, the 73-year-old Rüütel was sworn in before the Riigikogu. In his address, he called for restoring broad social dialogue in Estonia, consultations with the heads of all constitutional institutions, and a gathering of local government representatives to strengthen regional policy.
