Representatives of parties in the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, are meeting with the two leading presidential candidates, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise and Tallinn University of Technology rector Tiit Land, ERR reports. Land met with Fatherland and Estonian Centre Party MPs on 12 August 2026, and Madise will meet with MPs from Fatherland, the Centre Party, and the Social Democratic Party (SDE), as well as with unaffiliated MPs on 17 August 2026, ERR reports. Fatherland leader Urmas Reinsalu and Centre Party chairman Mihhail Kõlvart said that their parties would decide on the choice of presidential candidate after the meetings.
Meanwhile, Madise said that she would agree to run for president if MPs across political lines would accept her as an impartial figure, ERR reported. At the same time, she insisted that there was no reason for her to resign as chancellor of justice to campaign for the presidency. Parliamentary speaker Lauri Hussar of Estonia 200 (E200) explained that Madise wished that her candidacy had backing from both within the ruling coalition and the opposition, ERR reported. Deputy speaker Toomas Kivimägi of the Estonian Reform Party said that Madise now had 55 signatures for her candidacy from MPs representing Reform, E200, and SDE.