Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 2 March 2003. The newly elected 101 members of the 10th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. Two opposing parties won the most seats, with both the Centre Party and Res Publica Party winning 28 seats in the Riigikogu. Res Publica was able to gain enough support in negotiations after the elections to form a coalition government.
Background Following the 1999 election, a Triple Alliance coalition government was formed by Mart Laar of the Pro Patria Union, including the Reform Party and the Moderates.Estonia: Parliamentary Chamber: Riigikogu: Elections held in 1999 Inter-Parliamentary Union
By late 2001, scandals related to the privatization of state-owned enterprises had made the government unpopular, and relations between the Pro Patria Union and the Reform Party deteriorated. In December 2001, the Reform Party entered a coalition with the Centre Party in Tallinn, as a result of which Edgar Savisaar became the mayor. This happened after Reform had left the same Triple Alliance governing coalition in Tallinn. Prime Minister Mart Laar decided to resign, as he felt that the national level Triple Alliance government had essentially collapsed
Following that, a new coalition government was formed between the Reform Party and the Centre Party, with Siim Kallas from the Reform Party of Estonia as Prime Minister.
On 26 November 2002 the President of Estonia, Arnold Rüütel, set 2 March 2003 as the election date. 947 candidates from 11 political parties contested the election as well as 16 independents.
Electoral system The 101 members of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) were elected using a form of proportional representation for a four-year term. The seats were allocated using a modified D'Hondt method. The country is divided into twelve multi-mandate electoral districts. There is a nationwide threshold of 5% for party lists, but if the number of votes cast for a candidate exceeds or equals the simple quota (which shall be obtained by dividing the number of valid votes cast in the electoral district by the number of mandates in the district) the candidate is elected. District numberElectoral DistrictSeats1Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinn and Kristiine districts in Tallinn82Kesklinn, Lasnamäe and Pirita districts in Tallinn103Mustamäe and Nõmme districts in Tallinn84Harjumaa (without Tallinn) and Raplamaa counties125Hiiumaa, Läänemaa and Saaremaa counties76Lääne-Virumaa county67Ida-Virumaa county88Järvamaa and Viljandimaa counties99Jõgevamaa and Tartumaa counties (without Tartu)810Tartu city811Võrumaa, Valgamaa and Põlvamaa counties912Pärnumaa county8
Contesting parties
The Estonian National Electoral Committee announced that 11 political parties and 16 individual candidates registered to take part in the 2003 parliamentary election. Their registration numbers and order were determined by the order of registration. NameIdeologyPolitical positionLeaderTotal candidates1999 resultVotes (%)SeatsCentre PartyPopulismCentre-leftEdgar Savisaar12523.4%Moderate People's PartySocial democracy/ConservatismThe electoral coalition was formed by the nominally social democratic Moderates (Mõõdukad) party and the conservative People's Party (Rahvaerakond).CentreIvari Padar12515.2%People's UnionAgrarianismCentre to centre-leftVillu Reiljan1257.3%Pro Patria UnionNational conservatismRight-wingTunne Kelam12516.1%Social Democratic Labour PartyDemocratic socialismLeft-wingTiit Toomsalu126.1%United People's PartyRussia's national interestsEesti Päevaleht 20 June 2008: Kaitsepolitsei aastaraamat: Vene luure tegi mullu Eestis usinalt tööd by Kärt AnveltCentre-leftAndrei Zarenkov1066.1%Reform PartyClassical liberalismCentre-rightSiim Kallas12515.9%Res Publica PartyLiberal conservatismCentre-rightJuhan Parts125did not existChristian People's PartyChristian democracyCentre-rightAldo Vinkel302.4%Independence PartyEstonian nationalismFar-rightVello Leito37did not participateRussian PartyRussian minority interestsSyncreticStanislav Tšerepanov120.2%Individual candidates—16did not exist
Campaign Opinion polls showed the Centre Party led by the mayor of Tallinn, Edgar Savisaar, with a small lead in the run up to the election. They were expected to gain support from among those who had not benefited from the rapid economic reforms that had taken place over the last decade. However their populism and their lack of a clear policy on whether Estonia should join the European Union meant they were likely to struggle to form a coalition after the election.
The leading critics of the Centre Party were from the new conservative Res Publica Party, which had only been formed in 2002. Res Publica's campaign focused on the need to address crime and corruption and they portrayed themselves as being a change to the older political parties. Res Publica had performed strongly in the 2002 local elections after being formed from the youth wings of some of the other right wing political parties.
A leading issue in the election was the tax system with the Centre Party pledging to scrap the flat tax and change it to a progressive tax system. Both Res Publica and the Reform Party opposed this, with the Reform Party calling for the tax rate to be cut significantly. The personalities of the various party leaders were also a significant part of the campaign, with opponents particularly attacked the Centre Party leader Edgar Savisaar. Savisaar had quit as interior minister in 1995 after being accused of taping rival politicians and during the campaign the media raised questions over the financing of his campaign.
Opinion polls Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading party's color. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. DatePolling firmKeskILRefREMKoEERLEÜRPESDTPEKRPVEEERPEIPOthersNo preferenceLead2 Mar 2003Election results25.47.317.77.013.02.20.41.10.224.60.50.40.8Feb 2003ES Turu-uuringute 304135624186Sep 2002ES Turu-uuringute 206153676385Jul 2002ES Turu-uuringute 2079662111573511Jun 2002ES Turu-uuringute 20813888728714-25 Mar 2002ES Turu-uuringute 2281577714207Feb 2002ES Turu-uuringute 19612786933728 Jan 2002Siim Kallas' cabinet is formed by Ref and KeskDec 2001ES Turu-uuringute 22611988828118 Dec 2001The Res Publica Party (ERP) is formedNov 2001Emor 2171391131817 Nov 2001The Estonian Coalition Party (KoE) approves decision to disband the party2-11 Nov 2001ES Turu-uuringute 2291087153012Oct 2001Emor 151014713311Oct 2001ES Turu-uuringute 186119104673-12 Sep 2001ES Turu-uuringute 2010128262111063189-16 Jul 2001ES Turu-uuringute 209118142011016369Jun 2001ES Turu-uuringute 201313963979-15 May 2001ES Turu-uuringute 1781314131211133536-14 Apr 2001ES Turu-uuringute 1781013142111043847-14 Mar 2001ES Turu-uuringute 23912163377Feb 2001ES Turu-uuringute 221291324389Feb 2001Emor 12811536117 Feb 2001Kesknädal, the Centre Party's (Kesk) party newspaper, publishes an accusation of PM Mart Laar (IL) having shot at a picture of opposition leader Edgar Savisaar (Kesk), later known as the picture scandalNov 2001Emor 18111091834716-23 Oct 2000ES Turu-uuringute 261511152421111912118-18 Sep 2000ES Turu-uuringute 241113153731111159921-28 Jan 2000ES Turu-uuringute 22191214383021079325 Mar 1999Mart Laar's second cabinet is formed by IL, Ref and REM 7 Mar 1999 1999 election23.416.115.915.27.67.36.12.42.03.97.328181817776000010
Results The results saw the Centre Party win the most votes but they were only 0.8% ahead of the new Res Publica party. As a result, both parties won 28 seats, which was a disappointment for the Centre Party who had expected to win the most seats. Altogether the right of centre parties won 60 seats, compared to only 41 for the left wing, and so were expected to form the next government. Voter turnout was higher than expected at 58%. The Russian minority parties lost representation in parliament, with most of such voter switching to Estonian parties of the left (Estonian Centre Party) or some to the non-nationalist right (Reform Party).
Aftermath Both the Centre and Res Publica parties said that they should get the chance to try and form the next government, while ruling out any deal between themselves. President Rüütel had to decide who he should nominate as Prime Minister and therefore be given the first chance at forming a government. On the 2 April he invited the leader of the Res Publica party, Juhan Parts to form a government and after negotiations a coalition government composed of Res Publica, the Reform Party and the People's Union of Estonia was formed on the 10 April. The government has also been referred to as the Harmony coalition.
References
External links Estonian Electoral Commission