On Wednesday, the new composition of Pärnu City Council convened. A chairman and vice-chairmen were elected. The current city government submitted a resignation request. Andrei Korobeinik from the Center Party was elected as the chairman of the council.
Korobeinik was supported by 20 out of 34 council members. He said he hopes for good cooperation between the coalition and the opposition. He wants to revive cooperation formats that existed during his previous chairmanship. For example, citizen roundtables and consultations with the opposition.
Korobeinik will remain chairman for about a year. The coalition formed in October plans to swap the positions of mayor and council chairman next year. Thus, city mayor Kristel Voltenberg and council chairman Andrei Korobeinik will remain in office until the end of next year.
The council decided to continue with two vice-chairmen. One vice-chairman comes from the coalition and the other from the opposition. Three candidates were nominated for vice-chairman. The coalition candidate was Kari Maripuu from the Conservative People's Party. The opposition nominated Johan Kärp. EKRE, which is part of the coalition, also nominated Olav Karulin.
Ultimately, Kari Maripuu and Olav Karulin were elected as vice-chairmen. Both received 22 votes. Johan Kärp received 12 votes. Korobeinik said that Karulin is not a coalition representative. He was elected from Isamaa and is not part of the coalition.
The new Pärnu coalition was formed in October. It includes the Center Party, EKRE, the Conservative People's Party, and two electoral alliances. The opposition consists of the Reform Party and Isamaa. The council has 39 seats. Of these, 22 belong to the coalition and 16 to the opposition. One council member is non-aligned.