The Põhja-Pärnumaa municipal council elected a new mayor on Tuesday. Kaarel Oja became the new mayor. He received 11 votes in a secret ballot. The other candidate, Angela Lõhmus, received 10 votes.
Kaarel Oja is from the Social Democratic Party (SDE). He has previously worked as the deputy mayor of Tallinn. Oja says that Põhja-Pärnumaa is like a second home to him. He has visited there very often.
The municipal government has been half-empty for a month and a half. That's why the electoral alliances asked Oja if he would like to become mayor. Oja thought he could help with the development of the municipality. He also has experience for this.
Oja says that the municipality first needs to improve the social and education sectors. For example, in the education sector, people are waiting for a new plan. There are also issues with wind farms in the municipality. These are important topics that need to be resolved.
Kaarel Oja ran for mayor with the support of a coalition. The coalition consists of three electoral alliances. Oja himself is a member of the Social Democratic Party. He says he has a good relationship with all electoral alliances. His goal is to help Põhja-Pärnumaa progress well.
The new municipal government will have five members. In addition to the mayor, there will be heads of the economic and education sectors. Plus two more members.
Kaarel Oja was the deputy mayor of Tallinn from November 2021 until the fall of 2022. The Põhja-Pärnumaa council has 21 members. The largest electoral alliances are Tasakaal and Isamaa.