Estonia to Legislate Ban on Voting in Local Elections for Russian and Belarusian Citizens to Curb Foreign Influence

Estonia plans to deprive citizens of Russia and Belarus of the right to vote in local elections. This move is aimed at suppressing what the Estonian government considers to be pro-Kremlin influence.

The Estonian authorities immediately took a tough stance against Russian influence in response to the Russian army's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In particular, the measures included switching Russian-language schools to Estonian and demanding that the Russian Orthodox Church in the country break off relations with the leadership in Moscow.

Currently, about a quarter of the Baltic country's 1.3 million population is Russian-speaking. While the majority are Estonian citizens or stateless, approximately 80,000 people hold Russian citizenship. The country also has about 3,000 Belarusian citizens. These people were able to participate in the local elections in accordance with Estonian law.

Prime Minister Kristen Miсhal won support for the voting restrictions within her coalition after the Social Democrats, who said the rules risked driving away long-term residents, agreed to the move.

‘We recommend that our parliamentary factions amend the constitution as soon as possible so that citizens of aggressor countries no longer make decisions in our local elections,’ the prime minister said.

The rules have to be approved by the parliament in Tallinn and signed by the Estonian president - and may be challenged in court before they come into force before the local elections next October.