The Centre Party plans to appoint Max Kaur as the mayor of Kohtla-Järve.

The Centre Party, which has decided to govern Kohtla-Järve without coalition partners, plans to appoint Max Kaur as mayor of the city and to give the position of chairman of the city council to the local party leader, Sergei Lopin. The opposition doubts that the Centre Party faction will manage to avoid internal splits.

The Centre Party announced its plans regarding the distribution of leading positions in the Kohtla-Järve administration late last night on social media.

"Max Kaur is being considered as a candidate for mayor – his experience and strong connection with Ida-Virumaa give him a deep understanding of the city’s needs and opportunities. The candidate for chairman of the city council is Sergei Lopin, whose previous experience as deputy chairman will help ensure effective and responsible work of the legislative body," the announcement stated.

The planned deputy mayors are Lyudmila Latt, Aleksandr Keivabu, and Evelin Danilov.

In the elections held in October, the Centre Party won 14 out of 25 seats in Kohtla-Järve, the electoral alliance Restart received seven seats, the party Koos three, and one seat went to the Social Democratic Party.

According to Sergei Lopin, the situation has now changed, and he expects the party to be able to govern the city stably for the next four years.

The 55-year-old mayoral candidate of Kohtla-Järve, Max Kaur, has been a member of the Centre Party since 1999. He has previously served as rural municipality mayor in Mustvee and Jõhvi, and since 2022 has worked as deputy mayor of Lüganuse municipality. In the October 2025 elections, he ran for the Narva-Jõesuu city council, receiving 45 votes and becoming one of the two Centre Party representatives elected to the council.