Elections Briefs: Legal, Mathematical and Financial
Aleksandr Petuhhov, a candidate for a seat on the Alajõe local government council, has attempted to register 31 people as living in his home, thereby making them eligible to vote in the municipality's elections.
Petuhhov told regional newspaper Põhjarannik on Saturday that the 31 people are friends and acquaintances who want to vote for him in the town of roughly 500.
The 31 applications, all of which were rejected by the local government secretary, would have increased the municipality's official population by 5 percent.
The incident was not the first of its kind in Alajõe - before the previous local elections four years ago, the municipality's registered population swelled by 200 people.
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IRL has clarified the reasoning behind its slogan - featured in the text of political ads in Tallinn - which declares: “Savisaar's corruption takes 1,000 euros from your family each year. Let's bring that to an end.”
IRL said that, according to German scientists Axel Dreher and Thomas Herzfeld, each positive point on Transparency International's annual Corruption Perception Index translates to 319 euros more GDP per capita.
Estonia scored 6.4 out of 10 on the index in 2011 (after which methodology was changed), meaning that the country still has a potential 3.6 points to go. IRL then multiplies 3.6 with 319 euros to get a result of 1,148 euros. The average family being 2.2 people gives a result of 2,526 euros per family, according to IRL calculations.
The party then says that, while the Center Party is not responsible for all the corruption in Estonia, as Tallinn is the driving force of the economy, half of the corruption can be attributed to the party and its actions, resulting in the 1,000-euro figure.
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The Center Party has decided it will not exercise its right in the upcoming elections to sign notarized contracts with its candidates obligating them to give the party financial support. In 2011, the party added a paragraph to its rules giving its leadership that right, and the party said they will use the clause in the 2015 parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, Postimees reported on Sunday that any Center Party member running for local office as part of a election coalition in a municipality where Center is also contesting seats will be expelled from the party.
A number of Center Party MPs and MEPs have recently left the party without giving up their seats, with the party demanding they step down or pay a fine.