Narva power struggle reaches emergency session: Jaan Toots calls move lawful

Sixteen opposition members of Narva City Council plan to convene an extraordinary session on Monday, June 1, to elect new city leadership. Centre Party member Jaan Toots insists the session is legally valid, as council speaker Mihhail Stalnuhhin has failed to convene regular sessions for months.

A political standoff in Narva is set to reach a decisive moment on Monday, June 1, when 16 opposition members of the city council plan to hold an extraordinary session aimed at electing new city leadership. The move comes after months of deadlock in Estonia's easternmost major city.

Jaan Toots, a member of the Centre Party, has defended the planned session as entirely lawful. He argued that council speaker Mihhail Stalnuhhin has repeatedly refused to convene regular council sessions over recent months, leaving the opposition with no other option but to call an extraordinary gathering.

The 16 councillors backing the extraordinary session represent the opposition bloc within the Narva City Council. Under Estonian law, council members have the right to convene a session independently if the council speaker persistently fails to do so — a provision that Toots says justifies the Monday meeting.

The dispute highlights deepening tensions in Narva's local governance, where the council has been effectively paralysed by the speaker's inaction. The extraordinary session, if it proceeds, could result in the election of a new city mayor and reshape the balance of power in the strategically significant border city.