[REVISION HISTORY]

Ülle Madise elected as Estonia's new president

Updated 8 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-09-02 15:11 UTC → 2026-09-03 02:56 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Ülle Madise has been elected as the new President of the Republic of Estonia. Following her formal announcement of candidacy and subsequent nomination by 75 members of the Riigikogu, the election took place in the 101-seat parliament. On September 1, Madise secured the presidency as the sole candidate, receiving 71 votes. This surpassed the required two-thirds majority threshold of 68 votes. Of the 101 members of parliament, 78 cast ballots, with seven votes recorded as blank. She succeeds Alar Karis, who declined to seek a second term. Madise, a 51-year-old legal scholar and former Chancellor of Justice, is set to take the oath of office on October ~~12.~~ 12, 2026, for a five-year mandate. She will become the second woman to hold the presidency in Estonia, following Kersti Kaljulaid. In her address to the Riigikogu, Madise emphasized the importance of solidarity and described Estonia as a “key security point for Europe and the Western world.” Her candidacy received broad support from several governing and opposition parties, including the Reform Party, Eesti 200, the Social Democrats, and Isamaa. The election, held during an extraordinary session of parliament via secret ballot, reflected a broad but not unanimous consensus, as some opposition members and certain factions were absent or abstained. The process has faced domestic criticism, notably from the EKRE party, which boycotted the proceedings in favor of direct popular elections. While the current system relies on the Riigikogu rather than a direct popular vote, recent polling suggests a majority of Estonians would prefer a direct election. Madise has expressed reservations about such a change, noting that transitioning to a direct election would require a fundamental restructuring of the powers and duties of the presidency, which is currently a largely representative and diplomatic role. She has previously emphasized the importance of national unity and the constitutional role of parliament in selecting the head of state. presidency.

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