Seeder: Possibility draft bill terminating ERJK will not go further
Isamaa chairman Helir-Valdor Seeder said, in theory, it is possible the draft bill which will liquidate the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (ERJK) may not proceed. He said the bill must be discussed over the summer so the situation is clearer during the Riigikogu's autumn session.
Seeder: "As it is only planned for the autumn session, there is enough time to think about how to proceed. It is clear that this particular draft will not be dealt with in the usual way and all 50,000 amendments will be put to the vote. Before the autumn, we will certainly discuss and review, which are the most sensible solutions."
Seeder said, in theory, it is also possible the coalition deputies will withdraw their signatures from the bill.
"There are different possibilities here, there is also a possibility that this issue will not be taken forward. This possibility also exists. It is definitely not a problem in the coalition, the coalition can agree here and act together," Seeder said.
Seeder said that there are potentially many ways forward.
"There is an opportunity to come up with a new bill initiated by the government. Then it is possible to avoid such an obstruction, where the work of the Riigikogu is essentially suspended and such obstruction can be avoided through tying mistrust," Seeder said.
The Riigikogu will continue processing the bill which will liquidate party finance watchdog the ERJK when the autumn session starts in September, the head of the constitutional committee said on Monday.
The coalition parties Center Party, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa initiated the disbanding of the ERJK and the reassigning of its duties to the National Audit Office last month.
On June 2, the coalition parties of the Riigikogu rejected a proposal from the two opposition parties, Reform and the SDE to remove the law. After lengthy discussions, the opposition SDE tabled around 50,000 filibuster amendments to the bill.
The ERJK supervises the legality of obtaining and spending the finances of political parties, as well as also election coalitions and independent candidates who participate in elections.
The main tool of the ERJK is the financial reporting information system, through which the reports on the finances of political parties are collected and published reliably and in a comparable format.
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Editor: Helen Wright
