Registration for the spring elections opened for candidates on December 1, however the first candidate did not file until a few days before the end of the year.

The National Electoral Committee (VVK) told ERR that the first to submit documents was Mihhail Stalnuhhin, a member of the Riigikogu and Narva City Council and a former member of the Center Party.

Stalnuhhin ran in the 2019 Riigikogu elections in Ida-Virumaa, where he earned 2,653 votes, second only to Yana Toom with 6,195 votes. In the 2019 elections, the Center Party received in total 13,700 votes in Ida-Viru County.

In September of this year, the Center banned Stalnuhhin after he said in a Russian-language video released on social media that he believed people who tore down memorials to Soviet soldiers to be Nazis and that he considered members of the government and Kaja Kallas (Reform) to be fascists.

The registration deadline is January 19 at 18:00. The selection committee will register qualified candidates by January 24 at the latest. During the following three days, candidates may still withdraw their candidature.

Each political party may nominate a maximum of 125 candidates. A political party or individual candidate must deposit €654 per candidate into the account of the Ministry of Finance before registering.

The week of the 2023 Riigikogu elections spans from February 27 to March 5.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!