A CHELMSFORD man who moved to Estonia and became the country's first black elected city councillor last year could be set to go one step further – this time in the European elections.
Abdul Turay, 47, moved to Estonia six years ago to be with his native wife, and in October last year became a councillor in the city centre district of capital city Tallinn for the Social Democratic Party with 516 votes.
His party was so impressed with the results that he has now been put forward along with 11 other of his party's top officials to compete for a seat in Brussels on May 25.
"One of the members of my party approached me. He put it to the party for me to be a candidate and they agreed," said Mr Turay, who still has a house on the Westlands Estate.
But despite being involved in Estonia for the last six years, he has not lost the typical British wariness. "I'm taking a wider view because there are a lot of things that could go wrong," said Mr Turay, who also works as a political journalist and teacher.
"Somebody might do better than me and there are other candidates who are very, very strong. Our party's really going for it. I'm campaigning against some very strong people but I'm going to be going all guns blazing."
If he reaches the European Parliament in the elections on May 25, Mr Turay's policies will centre around making the Estonian pay gap decrease between certain jobs, along with proving that the Baltic country with its 1.3 million population is not scared of neighbouring power Russia due to the current situation in the Ukraine.
"People here are used to low wages but the gap is much bigger than it should be – for teachers or police officers it's too low. It needs to change," he said.
"What Russia is doing in the Ukraine is scaring people here – they are concerned about that and if I can go to Europe it will be my mission to show that Estonia is a country that needs to be protected because it's a good place to invest."
And Mr Turay thinks that his words being picked up by the Essex Chronicle and others will give him the advantage when it comes to the final sprint to the finish.
"My mission is to promote Estonia in Europe – it will be due to the English-speaking press and it's an unusual situation because I don't look like anybody else here."
Since he was put forward by his party several weeks ago, he has been out appearing at Easter fairs all over the country and campaigning via e-mail – but he admits it could well be tough going.
"The thing I'm not that prepared for is debates. I do speak the language but I can struggle – it's very difficult.
"But it'll feel great if I get in," he added. "I'm quietly confident."
