Estonia: will Russians lose the right to vote?
Estonia's governing coalition wants to deny Russian and Belarusian citizens living in the country the right to vote in local elections. Whether stateless "non-citizens" who hold grey passports will also be affected remains unclear. In any case, such a step requires an amendment of the constitution, so the matter will be put to the country's parliament. The national media take a closer look.
The right reaction in a tense situation
Postimees praises the government:
“One can't agree with those who say that the coalition council's decision on Monday was driven by emotion and political short-sightedness, as if the aim were to emphasise the importance of the moment we are living in. ... This is not just a moment, but a very fundamental turning point. The war in Ukraine is the biggest challenge to Estonia's security policy since the restoration of independence in 1991. Unfortunately, however, the coalition council's decision also came with a downside after it emerged that the Social Democrats do not want to deny grey passport holders the right to vote in local elections.”
An undemocratic step driven by vested interests
Liia Hänni, in the early 1990s one of the authors of the country's constitution, warns in Õhtuleht that this is an encroachment on civil rights:
“Giving all permanent residents the right to vote in local elections was not a mistake on the part of the Constitutional Assembly, as some 'experts' claim, but a prudent decision based on the responsibility of the local community to organise its own life, taking into account the reality in so many Estonian cities and towns. ... The rushed amendment of the constitution ahead of the municipal elections in autumn 2025 is a clear example of how some political parties want to reconfigure the electorate in the run-up to the elections and exploit the emotions triggered by the Russian aggression in Ukraine to suit their own interests.”