Stalnukhin does not recognize the Narva City Council session scheduled for June 1 as lawful

Sixteen Narva city councillors from the Centre Party and the "Plan B + Narva Pulse" factions plan to hold a session on June 1 to table a no-confidence motion against the current city leadership and elect a new administration. City Council Chairman Mikhail Stalnukhin, who faces removal from office, refuses to recognize the upcoming session or its results, claiming that only he has the authority to convene council meetings.

Narva is experiencing an acute institutional conflict: 16 city councillors have decided to hold a session on June 1 to table a no-confidence motion against the city's current leadership and elect a new one. The new majority consists of Centre Party members and the "Plan B + Narva Pulse" factions.

City Council Chairman Mikhail Stalnukhin, who faces losing his position, has already announced that he will not recognize the planned session or its decisions as lawful. According to his position, it is exclusively the council chairman who has the authority to convene sessions, and therefore any assembly initiated by other councillors is invalid in his view.

The conflict touches on a fundamental question of who is competent to summon city council meetings and under what conditions this is possible. The councillors forming the new majority apparently hold the position that they have the right to organize a session independently, based on the relevant provisions of the council's rules of procedure.

The situation points to a deep split in Narva city politics, where a change of power encounters strong resistance from the current leadership. If the session on June 1 does take place and the results of the no-confidence vote are upheld, it remains unclear whether Stalnukhin will actually accept them in practice.