Baltish presidential election, 2016

The Baltish presidential election of 2016 was the eighteenth presidential election to be held in Baltia. The first round took place on 11 September 2016 and the second round occurred on 25 September 2016. The elected candidate's term began on 14 October 2016 and will last until October 2022. The incumbent Thomas Henrik Imhoff was ineligible for re-election, having served the maximum two terms.

Eight candidates were confirmed by the National Electoral Committee of Baltia on 13 July 2016. No candidate received a majority of votes in the first round; with 30.2 percent of the vote, Christine Kallenbach, an endorsed by the Baltish People's Party and the Christian Social Union faced off against Marina Kaltenberg, also an  endorsed by the Social Democratic Party, who received 24.3% of the vote.

Christine Kallenbach won the second round with 51.0% of the votes, while Marina Kaltenberg received 49.0% of the votes.

It was the first time that two women and two independent candidates was on the runoff ballot in a presidential election in Baltia.

Previously plausible candidates
Centre Party Declined to run:


 * Andreas Annen,, former Prime Minister, former Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure.
 * Katja Kallmann,.
 * Udo Pagels,, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Minister of Culture.

Baltish People's Party Declined to run:


 * Hendrik Ehrenbaum, MP.
 * Andreas Lischke, former Governor of the Bank of Baltia, former Minister of Finance (proposed as a possible joint candidate of the BFP and CSU).
 * Jürgen Ratzlaff, MP, party leader.
 * Elise Rehn, MP, former Minister of Education and Research, former party leader.
 * Yulia Topilina,.

Social Democratic Party Declined to run:


 * Marcel Auspitz, rector of the University of Riga.
 * Rainer Falckenberg, MP.
 * Maike Lauterbach,, former Minister of the Interior.
 * Sfen Mitterer, MP, former Minister of Defence.
 * Eckart Nessler, President of the Parliament of Baltia.
 * Ute Pauli, MP, former Minister of Economic Affairs, former Minister of Population and Minority Rights.
 * Henrik Tanne, former President of Confederation of Baltish Trade Unions.
 * Klaus Usachyov, Mayor of Riga.

Christian Social Union Declined to run:


 * Anne Erdmann, former President of the Parliament of Baltia.
 * Andreas Lischke, former Governor of the Bank of Baltia, former Minister of Finance (proposed as a possible joint candidate of the BFP and CSU).
 * Martin Nussbaum, former MP.
 * Helmut-Valter Seetzen, MP, former Minister of Agriculture.

Party for Freedom Declined to run:


 * Martin Heilmann, MP, party leader.

The Greens Announced, then defeated in primary:


 * Linus Bahnsen, MP, former party leader.
 * Lauri Sihvonen, MP, former member of Reval City Council.

Left Bloc Announced, then defeated in primary:


 * Ilse Grisbaum,.

Declined to run:
 * Yelena Aleksenko, MP, party leader.

Other candidates Failed to collect the 20,000 signatures needed to be a candidate:


 * Karsten Kempter, author and entrepreneur.
 * Sylvester Meinhardt, former Centre Party MP endorsed by the Pirate Party.
 * Henrik Tauscher,, party leader of the EU Exit Party.
 * Edmund Sauerland, former party leader of the BFP, former Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure.

Funding
The candidancies have budgeted about more money for their campaigns than during the last presidential election in 2010. Ahead of the election, the campaign teams have budgeted as follows: Kallmann 750,000 euros, Kallenbach and Kaltenberg 600,000 euros, Jonke 425,000 euros, Löffler 350,000 euros, Adelman 300,000 euros, Bolender 130,000 euros and Lewisohn 75,000 euros.