Priit Toobal elected mayor of Põhja-Sakala Parish
Former Riigikogu member Priit Toobal has been elected head of Põhja-Sakala Parish in Estonia, receiving 10 of the 19 votes in the local council.
Priit Toobal, a former member of the Riigikogu, Estonia's parliament, has been elected head of Põhja-Sakala Parish, a local municipality in Estonia. He received 10 votes in favour, six ballots were left blank, and one carried the words "Absolutely not!". The vote gives the parish a new leader after a recent change at the top.
The vote
According to the newspaper Sakala, 10 of the 19 votes in the parish council was the minimum needed to elect a parish head.
Background
Toobal was earlier removed from national politics because of a criminal sentence, and for the past five years he has sat on the local council. Since last December he has led the opposition in the council as head of the electoral alliance Meie Põhja-Sakala.
The appointment process began in September, when councillors passed a vote of no confidence in Tiiu Nõmmik, who had served as parish head for ten months.
What comes next
Toobal takes office on Friday. He promised to draw up an action plan for the first hundred days straight away, so that the new local government can start work promptly.
