Estonia: Controversy over changes to local elections law

Local elections will be held in Estonia in October 2025. The Riigikogu (Parliament) is currently considering a draft amendment to the Constitution that would restrict the right to vote in local elections for citizens of Russia, Belarus and/or persons of undetermined citizenship. While the aim of the amendment is to deprive citizens of hostile and aggressive states of the right to vote, the debate on the amendment has a wider dimension as it touches on the stability and quality of democracy, human rights and freedom of thought and belief.

Political and social context. The right to vote in local elections, based on §156 of the Constitution, is granted not only to citizens of Estonia and the European Union. It also applies to foreigners residing in Estonia on the basis of a permanent residence permit, who have reached the age of 16 on the day of the election and have their permanent residence in a given municipality (this right does not apply to parliamentary elections). The category of foreigners includes mainly citizens of Russia and persons of indeterminate nationality with permanent residence in Estonia. Their presence in the country is historically conditioned and results from the complex migration policy of the Soviet Union. The vast majority of persons with undetermined citizenship are Russian-speaking. After Estonia regained its independence, it was important for all persons permanently residing in the territory of a given municipality to participate in local elections so that any disputes and dissatisfactions could be resolved through a representative assembly and not in the form of protests and demonstrations. This right is a practical expression of the concept of a political community whose members can take decisions on local matters.

Currently, people of undetermined citizenship make up 4.5% of the Estonian population and Russian citizens – 5%, i.e. about 62.000 and 70.000 people respectively (Statistics Estonia, 2024). In the last local elections in 2021, only about 40% of eligible voters from the two above-mentioned groups participated.

Draft constitutional amendment. At the end of October 2024, a group of MPs representing three coalition parties – the Estonian Reform Party (RE), the Social Democratic Party (SDE) and Estonia 200 – submitted a draft constitutional amendment to parliament, which aims to restrict the right to vote in local elections for citizens of aggressor states. The bill would grant the right to vote to citizens of states that share democratic values and have security interests similar to those of the Estonian state, as well as to people living in Estonia who have no citizenship and owe no allegiance to any state.

The bill passed its first reading in November. The second reading is scheduled for the end of February this year and the third for the end of March, but it is still uncertain whether and to what extent the bill will be adopted. The position of the opposition parties is mixed. The Centre Party rejects the bill outright. On the other hand, Isamaa and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) argue that people who have permanent residence in Estonia but are not citizens of any country (‘people with undetermined citizenship’ or so-called ‘grey passport’ holders[1]) should also be deprived of the right to vote.

For its part, one of the coalition partners – the SDE – insists on retaining the right to vote for residents with ‘grey passports’. However, the party would prefer solutions at the level of an ordinary law rather than constitutional amendments. An alternative solution proposed by the SDE would make the right to vote dependent on a declaration of loyalty to the Estonian state and condemnation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In certain situations, the security services could also remove from the electoral rolls people who pose a threat to Estonia’s stability and independence.

Initially, RE and Estonia 200 wanted to disenfranchise people with ‘grey passports’. However, in January this year, all parties in the ruling coalition agreed to amend the constitution only in relation to citizens of Russia and Belarus, leaving the right to vote for people with undefined citizenship, which SDE had advocated. In order for the amendment to go through, the coalition parties need the support of the opposition (together the coalition has 66 votes; a 2/3 majority of the Riigikogu, i.e. 68 votes, is needed to pass the law).

Restriction of the right to vote and the question of the quality of democracy and freedom of conscience. Controversies over the disenfranchisement of certain groups of people have opened up a wider debate that directly concerns the state of democracy in Estonia. Firstly, it was decided that the fundamental rights enshrined in the Basic Law cannot be restricted either by the obligation to submit a declaration of loyalty or by drawing up a list of states and persons to whom this restriction applies. In this respect, a constitutional amendment is required to give greater legitimacy to decisions. The Constitution can be amended in three ways (§163) – by an adopted law: 1) as a result of a referendum; 2) by two successive Riigikogu Assemblies (in the first and the next term of the Seimas, the members of the Riigikogu must vote in favour of the amendment). 3) Urgent procedure (the draft constitutional amendment is discussed in three readings, with at least three months between the first and second readings and at least one month between the second and third readings). This requirement strengthens the stability of the political system and requires careful consideration of changes so that they are not rushed and reflect the broader political consensus over time.

Secondly, it was considered that the declaration of loyalty proposed by the SDE is a very questionable mechanism that is dangerous for the stability and durability of the democratic principles of the state because it interferes with the human right to freedom of conscience. This raises the question of whether interference in the internal space of an individual’s beliefs is ethically and legally justified. Moreover, in democratic states it seems controversial to deprive an entire social group of rights on the basis of a certain characteristic (citizenship of an enemy state or lack of Estonian citizenship) rather than on the basis of individual behaviour.

Conclusions. Although none of the parties mentioned the intention to amend the Constitution in their election programmes for 2023, this issue was included in the agenda of the Riigikogu in the second half of 2024, when the deputies of the Fatherland and EKRE initiated a discussion on the disenfranchisement of citizens of hostile states – Russia and Belarus.

One of the main arguments for the need to change the constitution is the security issue. According to the Estonian services, the ‘grey passport’ holders and Russian citizens in Estonia pose a threat to state security, as Russia is trying to recruit them for actions against Estonia. The majority of Estonians also support changes to the electoral law. Research by the Institute of Social Studies (spring 2024) showed that 63% of respondents are in favour of depriving citizens of third countries of the right to vote in local elections, regardless of whether they are citizens of Russia or other countries (74% among ethnic Estonians and 12% among people of other nationalities). Interestingly, when asked whether Ukrainian citizens who have been living in Estonia for a long time should have the right to vote in local elections, 31% of respondents were in favour, while 60% were against (Norstat, autumn 2024).

Another argument is the question of support for the Kremlin’s policies. Citizens without citizenship and Russian citizens living in Estonia make up a significant percentage of those who do not condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Supporters of the amendment point out that in the 30 years since Estonia regained its independence, these people have had many opportunities to take advantage of the naturalisation process and obtain Estonian citizenship. However, obtaining Estonian citizenship requires knowledge of the state language, which is very difficult for the older generations. In addition, Estonian law prohibits the granting of citizenship to former Soviet soldiers and their families. Russian institutions also often make it difficult to submit appropriate applications for renunciation of citizenship (e.g. by initiating a criminal case in Russia, which excludes renunciation of citizenship, requiring additional explanations when submitting documents, or submitting an application on the territory of Russia).

At the same time, political attitudes do not always coincide with the issue of citizenship. Integration monitoring (2023) shows that 58% of Russian-speaking residents of Estonia are fully or partially integrated (they have a good knowledge of the state language and trust state institutions), and 22% of them have Russian citizenship. Therefore, depriving them of the right to vote could mean a loss of loyalty and reduced support for the authorities.

Political arguments and the desire of certain parties to maximise their electoral results are equally important. The Centre Party, which has been winning ‘Russian votes’ for years, would lose the most by restricting the voting rights of citizens of Russia and Belarus. At the same time, the position of Isamaa and the Reform Party would increase.

[1] The term is derived from the colour of the travel document issued to them for international travel.

[Photo INTS KALNINS / Reuters / Forum]