VILNIUS, September 2. /TASS/. Members of Estonia’s Riigikogu parliament elected via secret ballot Chancellor of Justice Ulle Madise as president of the Baltic country for a five-year term, according to a broadcast of the vote by the parliamentary press service.
Seventy-one lawmakers voted for Madise, while seven did not support her candidacy.
Madise was the lone candidate in the election. Alar Karis, who had led the country since 2021, did not seek a second term for personal reasons.
Estonia’s parliament elects the president by secret ballot. Candidates for head of state must be Estonian citizens by birth and at least 40 years old. To win the presidency, a candidate must secure more than two-thirds of lawmakers’ votes, or at least 68 votes.
Madise, 51, is a lawyer who holds a doctorate in law. She worked at the Justice Ministry and the parliament’s Constitutional Committee, served as a legal adviser to the president and dealt with constitutional review matters. Since 2015, she has served as Chancellor of Justice, an independent official overseeing the legality of the legislative and executive branches.
Representatives of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia challenged the legality of her eligibility to run, arguing that combining the posts of Chancellor of Justice and presidential candidate violated the separation of powers. The Supreme Court, Estonia’s highest judicial authority, rejected the complaint.