Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar can certainly smile after Sunday's election results.
TALLINN — Incumbent Edgar Savisaar trounced his opponents in Tallinn’s mayoral race Sunday with 53.5 percent of the vote while the next highest candidate received only 16 percent.
The final results exceeded recent polls that showed Savisaar leading but not with such a large majority. However, the results of the nationwide municipal/local elections also demonstrated the strong regionalism of Estonian politics. In more rural counties Savisaar’s Center Party did not fare well, losing the majority of votes in most to the Reform Party or Union of Pro Patria/Res Publica, the two parties that make up Estonia’s ruling minority coalition in the national government.
Savisaar touted the municipal government’s “social jobs” program his administration introduced in response to the crisis in his victory speech to supporters.
“Center Party wins because people want the city to continue to implement the package that is already approved through the jobs,” Savisaar said.
The temporary jobs program was criticized by Prime Minister Andrus Ansips in September. Savisaar shot back at Ansips on Monday, calling the prime minister’s government divisive and impervious to criticism of their handling of the economic crisis.
Estonian political analysts point to Savisaar’s popularity among Russian speakers, his party’s social welfare programs and anger at the national government as belying the Center Party candidates’ vote count in Tallinn.
“This is also for them to express a protest against the Estonian government — the people who want to say this vote for Savisaar. If you want to protest Ansip, vote Savisaar. This relationship is based on confrontation,” political analyst Toomas Alatalu told Baltic Reports.
The Center Party’s win of more than 40 of the 63 seats on the Tallinn City Council gives them a solid majority. Turnout nationwide was over 60 percent, which is high for Estonian elections.
— Baltic Reports assistant editor Adam Mullett contributed to this article.
