World IN BRIEF : ESTONIA : Ballot Leader Loses Presidential Runoff
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From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Parliament chose free-marketeer Lennart Meri as the first post-Soviet president of the tiny Baltic republic of Estonia, defeating popular-vote favorite and former Communist leader Arnold Ruutel. Ruutel had 42% of the ballots to Meri’s 30% in last month’s three-way presidential election, forcing a runoff in Parliament between the top two. Parliament’s 101 deputies voted 59 for Meri and 31 for Ruutel, with 11 votes disqualified.
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