Estonian Mayor Resigns After 14 Days, Citing Power Struggle
Pille Pokk abruptly quit her post as mayor of Nõo, Estonia, after just two weeks, asserting she was denied real decision-making authority in a dispute over creating a new deputy mayor position, a claim the municipal council head contests.
- —Pille Pokk resigned as Mayor of Nõo after just two weeks, stating she lacked real decision-making power and the ability to form her team.
- —Pokk cited the creation of a deputy mayor position as a key point of contention, arguing it was unnecessary and that focus should have been on internal efficiency.
- —The head of the municipal council, Janar Saviir, disputed Pokk's account, claiming her proposals for team formation were not formally presented to the council's board.
- —The municipal council plans to offer the mayoral position to the runner-up of the original competition, Helen Elias, with the deputy mayor role to be decided by the new mayor.
- —A planned public broadcast of the council meeting where Pokk intended to explain her resignation was cut short, with council leadership stating her address was not on the official agenda.
Recap
The rapid resignation of Nõo's mayor reveals a fundamental breakdown in governance and communication. Conflicting accounts from the former mayor and the council head over decision-making authority, coupled with the termination of a public broadcast, point to an internal power struggle and a significant transparency deficit within the municipality's leadership.