Proposed Temporary Restriction of Voting Rights for Citizens of Russia and Belarus in Estonian Municipal Elections

In the current situation, this ban would apply to citizens of Russia and Belarus, since both of these countries are carrying out aggression against Ukraine.

The authors of the draft law state that the Estonian state institutions have no way to make sure that the citizens of the aggressor countries are free from the influence of these countries.

Currently, all foreigners and stateless persons permanently living in Estonia have the right to vote in municipal elections.

The temporary restriction of the right to vote, which would be established by amending the local government election law, would deny the right to vote in local government elections to foreigners who are citizens of a country that the European Parliament or Rīga Kogi has recognized as an aggressor country.

It is expected that soon the Minister of Justice Kalle Lānets, who is a member of the Reform Party led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, will submit the bill for evaluation at the coalition council meeting.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, Lauri Leenemets, has questioned the possibility of restricting the right of citizens of Russia and Belarus to vote in municipal elections without amending the constitution. He also said that the draft law was developed in the office of the Reform Party, not in the Ministry of Justice.

Lānets also admitted that this issue may end up in the State Court, which also has the functions of a constitutional court in Estonia.

The leader of the opposition Center Party, Jiri Ratas, has expressed the opinion that the idea of ​​depriving the citizens of Russia and Belarus living in Estonia of voting rights in municipal elections is against the Estonian constitution and European values. These people pay taxes and raise children in Estonia, and depriving them of voting rights will alienate them from Estonian society, Ratas added.

According to the data of May 17, there were 67,774 citizens of Russia and 1,052 citizens of Belarus with the right to vote in municipal elections.

The next municipal elections in Estonia are expected in autumn 2025.

2023-08-17 10:33:24
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