Two new parties break 5% threshold, clinch seats in Parliament
An hour before all precincts had reported and the Reform Party had won the elections, two relatively new parties vying for a place in Parliament clinched a spot, passing the 5 percent threshold.
The Free Party, founded this year, and the Conservative People's Party, an heir of a former coalition party People's Union, each have over 30,000 votes (and counting) and will have at least 5 seats each in Parliament.
The Free Party was founded by Andres Herkel, who left the conservative party IRL; while the Conservative People's Party is a Euroskeptic, anti-immigration party often termed right-populist. Its most prominent members are Mart Helme, a former ambassador to Russia, and his son Martin Helme.
The electorate is just under 900,000 and turnout was 63.7 percent this year.
Editor: K. Rikken, J.-M. Laats