6.03.2023 03:21
(Akt. 6.03.2023 03:30)
Kaja Kallas’ party wins Estonian parliamentary elections
©APA/AFP
In the EU and NATO state of Estonia, which borders Russia, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ liberal business reform party clearly won the parliamentary elections. After an election campaign dominated by the consequences of the Ukraine war, the ruling party won 37 of 101 seats in parliament in Tallinn – three more than in the previous election in 2019. According to the electoral commission, following counting all the votes, it remains the strongest force in the Riigikoku parliament.
Kallas has been the head of government since 2021 – the first woman in Estonia’s history – and is considered one of the most resolute supporters of Ukraine in Europe. The victory of her party in the Baltic state with around 1.2 million inhabitants had already become apparent before the election on Sunday. As the polls suggested, Kallas should now be able to continue governing.
The 45-year-old is currently leading a three-party coalition with the Social Democrats (9 seats) and the conservative party Isamaa (8 seats), both of which lost seats. The previous governing parties once more have a majority in parliament – whether Kallas will continue the alliance or look for new coalition partners was initially left open. All options should be discussed within the party beforehand.
“Voters expect the Reform Party to take the lead in the new government. That much is certain,” Kallas said on election night. With more than 31,000 votes in her constituency, she set a record – more than anyone had received since Estonia’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Kallas emphasized that Estonia was facing major reforms, including with a view to ecological restructuring. But the country must also invest in its security. “Our aggressive neighbor has not disappeared and will not disappear, so we have to deal with it,” she said, referring to Russia. All other parties “with the exception of Ekre and maybe the center” would have chosen the same line with regard to Ukraine. “I therefore think that we can find common ground here,” added Kallas, with a view to the upcoming coalition negotiations.
Two opposition parties came in second and third: the right-wing populist party Ekre (17 seats) and the left-wing Center Party (16 seats), both of which lost a few seats. The liberal party Estonia 200 (14 seats) was the largest winner of the votes in parliament for the first time. Experts even consider participation in the government to be conceivable.
Ekre boss Mart Helme reacted to the result with allegations of fraud. The election victory was “stolen” from his party. His party was ahead during the counting of the paper ballots, but the result turned around when the electronic votes were counted. A good 47 percent of voters cast their votes in this election by post or online.
One of the dominant issues in the election campaign was Russia’s war once morest Ukraine, which Estonia sees as a direct threat to national security. The country shares a nearly 300-kilometer border with Russia. Since regarding a quarter of the residents are of Russian descent, the war sparked off sensitive social debates – for example regarding school lessons in Russian and how to deal with one’s own history and culture of remembrance.
Since Russia’s attack, Kallas has emerged as a staunch supporter of EU sanctions on Moscow and arms sales to Ukraine. Under her leadership, Estonia has given more than one percent of its economic output as military aid to Ukraine and taken in more than 60,000 war refugees. She is also resolutely calling for NATO’s eastern flank to be strengthened.
The election also included the possibility of early voting via the Internet, which Estonia was the first country in Europe to introduce a few years ago. This time more than a third of all those entitled to vote made use of “e-voting” – including President Alar Karis. Overall, more than half of all votes were cast digitally – a record. According to preliminary information from the electoral commission, turnout was 63.7 percent.
The Estonian President has 14 days following the general election to nominate a candidate for the post of Prime Minister. He then has another 14 days to appear before Parliament with a newly formed government for a vote of confidence.
