Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 5 March 2023 to elect all 101 members of the Riigikogu. The officially published election data indicate the victory of the Reform Party, which won 37 seats in total, while the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) placed second with 17 seats. The Centre Party won 16 seats, a loss of 10, while Estonia 200 won 14 seats, gaining representation in the Riigikogu.
After the previous parliamentary election in 2019, the Centre Party, led by Jüri Ratas, formed a government with Ratas serving as prime minister. His government was brought down in January 2021 after a corruption investigation, and Kaja Kallas of the Reform Party formed a coalition government with the Centre Party, which collapsed in June 2022. Kallas then formed a government with Isamaa and the Social Democratic Party and remained in the position of prime minister.
In January 2023, the National Electoral Committee announced that nine political parties and ten individual candidates had registered to take part in the 2023 parliamentary election. During the campaign period, issues discussed most extensively regarded the Estonian economy, and the country's national defence and security due to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Individuals from contesting political parties also participated in multiple organised debates in January and February 2023. Voting at foreign embassies for Estonians outside the country took place from 18 to 23 February, while Estonian residents could vote during the pre-election period from 27 February to 4 March.
These were the first national elections where more than half of the votes were cast electronically over the Internet. Following the election, EKRE submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court of Estonia, requesting that the results be annulled and claiming that "anomalies and technical errors in the e-voting process had been observed", though the appeal was later dismissed. Reform successfully negotiated afterward with the Social Democratic Party and Estonia 200, forming a government headed by Kallas in April.
Background The previous parliamentary election, which was held in March 2019, saw the loss of the absolute majority held by Jüri Ratas's first cabinet in the Riigikogu, the unicameral parliament of Estonia. Ratas's Centre Party, Isamaa, and Social Democratic Party (SDE) all suffered a setback in favour of the Reform Party, led by Kallas, and the EKRE. Kersti Kaljulaid, then-president of Estonia, gave a mandate to Kallas to form a government after the election. The Reform Party negotiated with the Centre Party, Isamaa, and SDE but ultimately failed to form a government. After the vote in April 2019, Ratas received the mandate and successfully formed a government with Isamaa and EKRE. Jüri Ratas's second cabinet was sworn in on 29 April 2019.
In January 2021, the Centre Party-led government collapsed after a corruption investigation in which the Centre Party was accused of requesting financial support of up to €1 million within a year in return of the €39 million loan to Hillar Teder's real estate development in Tallinn. In response, Ratas resigned as prime minister of Estonia, while Kallas was invited to form a government. She struck a deal with the Centre Party, with Kallas now serving as prime minister. In June 2022, however, the coalition government between the Centre and Reform Party collapsed due to the Centre Party's opposition to a law on education. This occurred during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; the Centre Party was seen as close to Russians in Estonia. In response, Kallas opened Triple Alliance negotiations with Isamaa and SDE, successfully forming Kaja Kallas's second cabinet on 15 July 2022.
Electoral system
The Riigikogu is made up of 101 seats and its representatives are elected by open list proportional representation in twelve multi-member constituencies. First, seats are to be filled in 12 constituencies of 5 to 16 seats depending on their population, and the remaining seats, known as "compensation seats", are allocated using the d'Hondt method to all parties that exceeded the 5% electoral threshold, to bring the results in terms of seats as close as possible to those of the vote of the population. In 2023, 75 seats were filled in the constituencies and the remaining 26 were allocated using the d'Hondt method. Voters have the possibility of casting a preferential vote for one of the candidates on the list for which they are voting. If a candidate collects more preferential votes than the amount of the simple quotient in his constituency, they are declared elected even if the list for which they are candidate for fails to cross the 5% electoral threshold.
In November 2022, Alar Karis, the president of Estonia, signed the election decree, setting the date for 5 March 2023. Estonian citizens who are at least 18 years old, are registered in the voting list, have not been declared incapacitated or convicted of a crime by a court, or are serving a prison sentence have the right to vote. In foreign embassies abroad, voting took place from 18 to 23 February 2023, while to vote by mail in foreign countries, the voter had to submit a written request to the foreign mission by 3 February 2023. Advance voting in Estonia took place from 27 February to 4 March, meaning that a voter could vote outside the electoral district of their residence and electronically. Unlike in previous elections, on 5 March voters were able to vote in any precinct within the constituency, while voters who had voted electronically during the advance voting were able to vote on a paper ballot, although their electronic vote would be cancelled. Citizens who were not able to go to the polling stations or to vote electronically could order a ballot box at home and vote between 3 and 5 March 2023. Around eighty foreign observers monitored the election.
Seats by electoral district Map Electoral district Seats 1 Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinn and Kristiine districts in Tallinn 10 2 Kesklinn, Lasnamäe and Pirita districts in Tallinn 13 3 Mustamäe and Nõmme districts in Tallinn 8 4 Harju (excluding Tallinn) and Rapla counties 16 5 Hiiu, Lääne and Saare counties 6 6 Lääne-Viru county 5 7 Ida-Viru county 6 8 Järva and Viljandi counties 7 9 Jõgeva and Tartu counties (excluding Tartu) 7 10 City of Tartu 8 11 Võru, Valga and Põlva counties 8 12 Pärnu county 7 Source: Eesti Rahvusringhääling
Pre-election composition Party Seats Estonian Reform Party 34 Estonian Centre Party 23 Conservative People's Party of Estonia 19 Isamaa 11 Social Democratic Party 9 Parempoolsed 1 Independents 4 Source: Riigikogu
Contesting parties
The Estonian National Electoral Committee announced that nine political parties and ten individual candidates registered to take part in the 2023 parliamentary election. Their registration numbers and order were determined by a draw of lots.
Name Ideology Political position Leader Total candidates 2019 result Votes (%) Seats Parempoolsed Fiscal conservatism Centre-right Lavly Perling 125 did not exist Greens Green politics Centre-left Johanna Maria Tõugu 58 1.8% Isamaa National conservatism Centre-right toright-wing Helir-Valdor Seeder 125 11.4% Social Democratic Party Social democracy Centre-left Lauri Läänemets 125 9.8% Conservative People's Party Right-wing populism Right-wing tofar-right Martin Helme 125 17.8% Estonia 200 Liberalism Centre Lauri Hussar 125 4.4% Reform Party Classical liberalism Centre-right Kaja Kallas 125 28.9% Centre Party Social liberalism Centre-left Jüri Ratas 125 23.1% United Left Party Russian minority politics Left-wing Igor Rosenfeld 25 0.1% Individual candidates — 10 0.3%
Party manifestos and slogans + PartyManifesto (external link)Other slogan(s) Parempoolsed Voice of reason () Greens Green energy, smart development () Isamaa There is only one fatherland! () Social Democratic Party Self-sufficiency is security! () Conservative People's Party Let's save Estonia! () Estonia 200 It's possible with us () Reform Party Estonia in safe hands () Centre Party Bravely for the people! ()We are on your side! () United Left Party Together for peace ()
Campaign Issues The Eesti Rahvusringhääling and NPR commented that the issues that were discussed during the campaign period were the cost of living crisis, especially regarding rising prices and inflation, as well as issues regarding security and national defence due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Eesti Rahvusringhääling also asserted that the programmes of the contesting parties were largely influenced by the current war in Ukraine. Ellu Saar, a sociology professor, and Triin Lauri, an associate professor at Tallinn University, said that in the programmes of EKRE and Isamaa stated their support to protect the Estonian language in higher education, while Estonia 200 and SDE mention united schools where native Estonian-speaking and Russian-speaking students would study together.
Saar and Lauri commented that the Centre Party had a vague opinion regarding the issue of education. The Estonian Greens and SDE also mentioned school culture, quality of management, reducing path dependence as issues they would tackle. The Reform Party also stated its support for introducing national defence classes in schools, while Isamaa said that there should be more investments in national defence. The Centre Party called for higher salaries for those who work to contribute to the national defence, SDE suggested to implement a new tax regarding defence spending, while EKRE said that militarised border guards should be brought back. Anne Raiste of Eesti Rahvusringhääling said that the contesting parties all shared similar positions regarding foreign policy and that they pledged to implement forms of direct democracy or a more efficient representative democracy. In regards to the 2022–2023 Ukrainian refugee crisis, only EKRE pledged to not accept any new refugees, while the Reform Party stated that it would continue accepting new Ukrainian refugees. Euronews said that EKRE's support in opinion polls had fallen due to alleged links with Russia.
Regarding the economy, Raiste said that the contesting parties had pledged to raise pensions to €1,000 or more. The Centre Party stated its support for the introduction of progressive taxation, while SDE and the Greens had adopted similar positions. On the other hand, Reform stated that it would balance the budget, while EKRE called for reduction of taxes. Estonia 200 said that labour taxes should be lowered, while Parempoolsed promised to not introduce any new taxes. Scholars Liili Abuladze and Luule Sakkeus stated that EKRE and Isamaa put their family policy focuses on families with many children and that the needs of those most vulnerable are hardly addressed. EKRE stated its opposition to transition to sustainable energy to lower energy bills, while the Reform Party pledged to adopt sustainable energy. EKRE also criticised Kallas's Reform Party due to the growing inflation. The Centre Party campaigned on infrastructure investments and affordable housing.
Debates