EKRE asks President Karis not to enact bills based on votes of confidence

EKRE asked President Alar Karis to refrain from promulgating the laws approved by confidence votes.
In its appeal to the president EKRE wrote that, in exceptional cases, the rules of procedure of the Riigikogu allow the government to tie bills to a question of confidence in the government. In this case, however, this parliamentary procedure does not apply.
"According to the commentary accompanying the Riigikogu's rules of procedure, this option is intended for use by a minority government that would otherwise have difficulty implementing its policies, or in crisis situations where the government must overcome disagreements among a large number of MPs. As has been noted in the legal literature, the use of the in question procedure solely to expedite the passage of a draft bill in parliament may not be legitimate, as it severely restricts the rights of the opposition in particular," EKRE wrote in its appeal.
"Unfortunately, the current government has set political goals for itself that were not discussed during the election campaign; therefore, achieving these goals could be considered voter fraud." According to the appeal, the government has introduced measures without the required drafting consultation, effect assessment or participation.
EKRE is most concerned that the government has made it a norm to bind measures to a vote of confidence, contrary to the legislative practice objective of binding bills to government confidence.
"As the supreme overseer of the Constitution, we believe it is your responsibility to limit the arbitrariness of the governing coalition and refrain from promulgating laws passed by confidence votes," the appeal states.
The Riigikogu passed eight laws during an extraordinary session, including the supplementary budget for 2023, a law increasing the excise duty on alcohol and tobacco, a law increasing VAT and income tax, a law reorganizing the division of labor between ministries, and a law allowing same-sex marriage.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Kristina Kersa