TALLINN, May 26 (RIA Novosti) – The first Russian lawmaker from the Estonia Centre Party, Jana Toom, known as a defender of Russian-language education and the rights of non-citizens, has won a seat in the European Parliament, the Republican Election Commission said Monday.
“Jana Toom has received 25,200 votes,” the commission said. The result came as a surprise as Toom surpassed Tallinn Mayor and Centre Party Chairman Edgar Savisaar, who garnered 18,500 votes.
On Sunday, the elections to the European parliament reached their culmination in EU member-states. The voter turnout in Estonia was 36.4 percent, a 7.5 percent decrease compared with the previous 2009 poll.
A total of eight parties and 16 independent candidates participated in the election. The race for six MEPs involved 88 candidates. The ruling Estonia Reform Party led in the election, taking 35.4 percent of the votes, enough for two MEP seats.
The reformists are followed by the opposition Centre Party (32.6 percent) and the conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (20.3 percent). The Social Democratic Party and the independent candidate Indrek Tarand received 19.8 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively. These parties and Tarand will be allotted one seat in the European parliament.
Preliminary results show that the major parties in the European parliament, the European People's Party (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, will preserve their leading positions but will lose some of their seats.
Eurosceptic nationalists and far-right parties, including the French National Front, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the Alternative for Germany, have scored stunning victories in the European Parliament elections.
