Top squirrels rattled by civil war

Photo: Liis Treimann / Postimees

Kristiina Ojuland is fighting for her life… the political one, at least. As repeatedly confirmed by her, yesterday: «Andrus Ansip in attempting at my political execution.»

At least one ray of clarifying light shone on the Reform Party inner elections scandal, yesterday. Namely: now we know the battle lines. At the one side, there stands the party’s chairman, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. Confronted by Kristiina Ojuland, Member of the European Parliament.

For while the Reform Party commission is still investigating into who, if and how manipulated the party’s inner elections results, the last week but one, no one has been officially convicted. Still, on the highest levels, substantial conclusions are being drawn.

Mr Ansip, for instance, stating at the end of last week that sins had been confessed by one person acting under orders of a third person. The name not being publicly uttered, everybody knows the «confessor» to be Reform Party’s Lääne-Viru County development manager Taimi Samblik.

Obvious identity theft

Yesterday, fresh pieces of information were provided by Mr Ansip. First: Ms Ojuland, from her personal bank account, has paid party membership fees for 39 persons; these being the very persons whose identities were misused at Reform Party e-elections. Similarly, the chairman confirmed that, in addition to Lääne-Viru County, cases of fraud have also been detected in Võru County – but even there, according to him, the same people have been involved as in the Lääne-Viru case. Quite obviously referring to Kristiina Ojuland.

So: no-one will deny the fraud, any longer. Eesti Ekspress, a week ago, writing about fraud at Reform Party inner elections of 2011, the party by now admitting such fraud also happened at this year’s leadership and chairman elections.

The scheme, as such, is quite simple: somebody acquired or even created passwords and user names of/for certain Reform Party members – probably pensioners – in the party’s intranet, making use of these during the elections, logging in and voting in their name. In essence, this amounts to identity theft, as Mr Ansip said.

PR-battle over the issue also launched last week, already. From the start, the name of Ms Ojuland took centre stage as the accused. The link is understandable. The fraud took place in Lääne-Viru County, it involves a worker of the said county, Ms Samblik, Ms Ojuland being Reform Party regional chairwoman in Lääne-Viru County. From there, one only has to draw the lines.

Yesterday, a new name was added to the aforementioned: the Lääne-Viru County Governor Einar Vallbaum, member of Reform Party. He, namely, run for Reform Party board, from Lääne-Viru County, in 2011. Mr Vallbaum himself denies being involved in electoral fraud.

Yesterday afternoon, Ms Ojuland went into counter-attack. Not being officially accused, as yet, the party’s «truth committee» still doing its work, Mr Ansip’s statements leave no doubt where this is heading. «This is about my political execution,» says Ms Ojuland. According to her, the party and, first and foremost, Mr Ansip are after her blood because she wanted to run for Reform Party chairwoman.

At yesterday’s press conference, Ms Ojuland said she was in discussions, this spring, with various well known figures, politicians and businesspeople, that somebody needs to run against Mr Ansip. This time, it didn’t work, as the party’s general assembly was moved to an earlier date, all of a sudden. According to critics, this was done for the very purpose of eliminating possible competitors.

«However, I would like to say that I am willing to run for the party chairwoman the next time,» added Ms Ojuland. Her speech was summed up, by a postimees.ee headline, as follows: «Kristiina Ojuland: misdemeanours are widespread, manipulation has been going on for years».

While Mr Ansip accuses Ms Ojuland, the latter says massive fraud was organised by party headquarters. In essence, she is saying that during last elections, additional votes were created for well known people, the fraud being coordinated by the party headquarters or some of its representatives.

As an example, Ms Ojuland specified parliament member Kalev Lillo, asking how it was possible that, at party board elections, the latter got 94 per cent of his yes-votes via e-elections.

Uncomfortable facts

The Ms Ojuland case, naturally, has some weak spots. It being highly incriminating that she has personally paid party membership fees for many people (with fee unpaid, participation in inner elections is denied) whose identities were misused at elections.

People paying other members’ fees is nothing extraordinary in the squirrel party. As also admitted, to me, by the headquarters. The party press secretary Silver Pukk said this is practised, indeed – but not on a too large a scale.

Ms Ojuland said, yesterday, that a list of people to be paid for was pushed to her by the development manager Ms Samblik, saying «we have some elderly people who would be willing to vote, but they haven’t paid their membership fee».

Another fact, uncomfortable for Ms Ojuland, as a couple of cases have emerged in Võru County as well, people’s votes being abused in like manner. Namely, it has been found out that for two Võru county residents, votes were cast from a European Parliament computer.

Ms Ojuland explaining that her assistant comes from Võru County and she verily voted for her parents, with their permission, from Brussels. Quite possible, but still an unpleasant fact in this context.

The key figure of the scandal, Lääne-Viru development head Ms Samblik, is unknown to the public – and, these past days, also unapproachable. At yesterday’s press conference it was said that the lady has been explicitly advised to go into hiding, having been threatened by the party headquarters.

In truth, it has to be stated that Ms Samblik, up to now constantly used as linked to Ms Ojuland, in the organisation development managers are subject to headquarters – not regional chairmen/women. Ms Samblik’s direct boss being head of regions’ division Reimo Nebokat. Earlier, the post was filled by Kalev Lillo, the lady’s contract of employment probably bearing the name of the party’s secretary general Martin Kukk.

Thus: Ms Samblik may indeed work in Lääne-Viru County, but she still is in the headquarters’ team, rather, than in that of Ms Ojuland.

According to Ms Ojuland, it was Mr Nebokat who went to convince Ms Samblik, maybe even threatening her. Ms Samblik, last night having her initial contact with reporters, during the conflict, denied all things said by Ms Ojuland. According to her, she received orders for the 2011 fraud from Mr Vallbaum, this year from Ms Ojuland. No one, not Mr Nebokat nor anyone else, has threatened her.

For bystanders, it is difficult to say where the truth lies. There is something rotten in the statements of both sides. Ms Ojuland’s weaknesses are obvious. At the same time, however, the steps by Mr Ansip and Reform Party headquarters also raise eyebrows. Why should the party boss rush with explicit accusations – before the investigation is completed?

Letters of explanation by development manager

The headquarters will also have to explain how it was possible for these things to go unnoticed by them – as we are talking about 39 persons whose votes have been manipulated. For background: about 1,000 people participated in Reform Party inner elections, 100 of those from Lääne-Viru County. In this context, 39 being a large number – it must have been noticed by the headquarters that a large amount of votes came from people registered to one and the same mail account. Namely, to register these people, Ms Samblik used her personal mail address, [e-mail].

I have also been able to read one letter of explanation, sent by Ms Samblik last week. While she does mention, in the letter, both Ms Ojuland and Vellbaum, even Minister of Justice Hanno Pevkur, the lady’s explanations are not as clear as they are by now.

«Party inner elections in 2011, as before, have been organised after the same manner,» Ms Samblik writes, for example (the grammar of the quotes unchanged – edit).

And: «The people, to whom I have generated passwords to account [e-mail], have been aware of that and often stood by my side. The reason being their own e-mail didn’t work or they having forgotten the password etc. Then we have solved it as asked by headquarter IT people, at every opportunity to vote via Oravavõrk (squirrel network), in exceptional cases via the development manager’s computer, against signature.»

By the latter statement, Ms Samblik seems to hint at the headquarters, or at least the headquarters IT-boss Mati Leet being aware of what transpired. The latter, by the way, being member of the working group now investigating the scandal. In addition to him, the working group includes Members of Parliament Väino Linde and Peep Aru, but also Mr Kukk and Mr Nebokat.

So: over half of the investigating taskforce are headquarters people, bosses of Ms Samblik. Supporters of Ms Ojuland naturally saying: those who did it, also investigate it. In any case, the scandal is huge.

Compromise between both sides by now looks unlikely. Two options remain. One: Ms Ojuland lied and has been involved in a large-scale election fraud. Two: cheats and liars are to be found in Reform Party headquarters.