Riigikogu votes down bill to ban local government electoral alliances
A bill which would have banned electoral alliances from running for municipal government was voted down at its first Riigikogu reading on Thursday.
The Riigikogu's Constitutional Committee moved to reject the bill at its first reading, and 45 MPs voted in favor of that rejection, 11 against.
The legislation, named the Bill on Amendments to the Municipal Council Election Act, was initiated by the opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and would, had it passed, have prevented electoral alliances from running in local government elections.
The remaining options would have been to either run on a registered political party's list or as an independent candidate.
Electoral alliances (Valimisliit), while not as widespread as they once were, are a common feature of local elections and provide region-specific alternatives to the main political parties – though in reality the bulk of those running on an electoral list in any case belong to a party also.
Critics of the electoral alliance system say that it renders local politics too complex, and can also engender corruption.
The next local government elections are in October 2025.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
