2006 Estonian presidential election
Estonian presidential elections, 2006 took place over four rounds, which were held on 28 and 29 August,[1] and 23 September 2006.[2] The first three rounds of presidential elections was held within the Riigikogu, which was Estonia's Parliament, as specified under electoral law. Although there was only one candidate per round in the three rounds, those being Ene Ergma in the first round and Toomas Hendrik Ilves in the second and third rounds, they were not elected as these candidates did not obtain the required two-thirds of the votes in the Riigikogu.
As the Riigikogu was unable to make a decision within the first three rounds, it was required under Estonian electoral law to convene an Electoral Body to decide the presidency. It was convened on 23 September, and Toomas Hendrik Ilves emerged as the winner after obtaining a majority of the votes in the Electoral Body.[3]
Results
As Toomas Hendrik Ilves was the sole candidate in the third round of voting, he automatically qualified for a place in the fourth round of voting conducted with the Electoral Body. On the 21st of September, Arnold Rüütel was nominated by at least 21 members of the Electoral Body to participate in the fourth round of voting.[4] On the 23rd of September, 174 out of the 345 available votes were polled for Toomas Hendrik Ilves for the position of the President of the Republic of Estonia. As he obtained the majority (by a sliver; less 2 votes and it would have led to run-off) of the votes, he was elected as the President of Estonia.[5]
| Candidate | First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Ene Ergma | 65 | 64.36 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Toomas Hendrik Ilves | – | – | 64 | 63.37 | 64 | 63.37 | 174 | 50.43 |
| Arnold Rüütel | – | – | – | – | – | – | 162 | 46.96 |
| Abstentions | 36 | 35.64 | 36 | 35.64 | 36 | 35.64 | – | – |
| Invalid/blank votes | – | – | 1 | 0.99 | 1 | 0.99 | 9 | 2.61 |
| Total | 101 | 100 | 101 | 100 | 101 | 100 | 345 | 100 |
| Source: Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon | ||||||||
