Expenses associated with preparations and organization of Riigikogu elections are covered from the state budget. Lello said that the National Electoral Service's budget for Tallinn is the same it was in 2019. The capital was allocated €421,385 for the purpose three years ago.

"This is not enough to perform all necessary tasks," the city secretary finds.

He explained that the city's vote counting committee will have to determine the votes of people who permanently reside abroad and those who vote outside of their assigned electoral district.

"Determining the result of voters who voted outside their assigned electoral district on election night is time-consuming and required at least six hours of effort by at least 20-30 people. Costs of SARS-CoV-2 personal protection devices for committee members, as well as those on transport have also grown."

Lello suggested that additional resources need to be found for Tallinn to handle Riigikogu elections organization.

"When planning elections costs, we must also consider the past year's price advance. Bank of Estonia data puts annual inflation at 22.8 percent. (July 2022 versus July 21)," he said.

The city secretary proposes hiking the 2023 elections organization sum by at least 20 percent compared to the 2019 level for a minimum increase of €84,000.

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