Estonia's parliament preparing to nominate a new President, Latvia and Lithuania rehearsing a cross-border civilian evacuation, Estonia quarantining ".ru" emails, the first Swedish prisoners heading to Tartu and a solo paddling expedition retracing the Baltic Way — these are the developments set to shape Baltic headlines in August.
August / 2026 Baltics Next Month Newsletter
Estonia to Nominate the President
On the 2nd of September, Riigikogu, Estonia’s 101-seat Parliament, will be picking the new President for the country. To win, a candidate needs 68 votes, a two-thirds bar that’s hard to reach without cross-party agreement. The deadline for nomination is on the 24th of August, but the ruling coalition have already agreed to back Ülle Madis, currently a Chancellor of Justice, Estonia’s Ombudsman of a sort. Madis has been called a frontrunner, however, she hasn’t given her consent yet and multiple other candidates are cueing for the position, such as, the CEO of piano factory Indrek Laul, or far-right EKRE’s Mart Helme. Furthermore, the current coalition doesn’t have enough mandates to elect Madis without opposition’s support. Thus, anything is still possible. The nomination and Parliament’s vote will become great indicators of what happens during the 2027 March General Election.