Estonia's Chancellor of Justice Madise open to presidential bid if MPs seek broad consensus
Estonian Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise says she is not putting herself forward as a presidential candidate but would seriously consider it if a broad cross-party majority in the Riigikogu asked for her consent. The first round of the presidential election takes place on September 2.
Estonia's Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has said she is not actively seeking to become a presidential candidate, though she would give the matter serious thought if parliament could rally sufficient cross-party support behind her.
Under Estonia's system, the president is chosen by the Riigikogu rather than by direct popular vote. A candidate needs at least 68 votes out of the 101-seat parliament, and only sitting MPs are entitled to formally put forward nominees.
Madise is currently serving her second seven-year term as chancellor of justice. She has been floated as a possible candidate by the ruling coalition partners Reform and Eesti 200, which together lack enough votes to clear the threshold on their own. She has so far kept her intentions private.
Stresses institutional independence
Responding to an inquiry on Thursday, Madise said she is not seeking any new position and hopes to continue serving fully and dedicatedly as chancellor of justice through the end of her term. She noted that no member of the Riigikogu has actually asked for her consent to be nominated, and stressed that as head of an independent constitutional institution, she cannot align herself with any party, coalition or opposition.
She added that her position bars her from putting herself forward, making promises, entering agreements, or making party-political statements — a restriction that also applies to meetings with politicians and interviews, which under the process would take place after the official nomination window of August 21-24 and candidate registration.
Still, Madise indicated that if a large majority of MPs, cutting across coalition, opposition and ideological lines, concluded she was the right person for the presidency under current circumstances and formally sought her consent, she would take the request very seriously. She acknowledged she might end up serving the country in a new capacity, depending on the outcome of a secret ballot.
The first round of the presidential election in the Riigikogu is scheduled for September 2.
