MP: Reform Party to present bill to revoke third-country citizens' voting right
The Reform Party is set to enter into Riigikogu proceedings to draft legislation to strip citizens of third countries of their right to vote in local elections in the near future. The bill does not call for a constitutional amendment, Pärtel-Peeter Pere, Reform Party MP and member of the Tallinn coalition negotiations team, told ERR.
One side to the potential new coalition in Tallinn – Isamaa – has previously said that the incoming alliance will need to take a stand on the matter of third-country citizens' voting rights, while the others have suggested they're not prepared to discuss nationwide politics at the local level.
Riina Solman, head of Isamaa's Tallinn branch, said Monday that pro-Estonianness is a recurrent topic at the talks. "We still find that Tallinn cannot hide. It is where 46 percent of the Estonian GDP is generated. This is a matter of security, and Tallinn simply throwing its hands up and refusing to address it is comical," Solman said when commenting on the meeting point of voting rights and local authority.
Asked whether changes to voting rights require a constitutional amendment, which is not something local governments have any say in, Solman said that the sides to the debate differ on whether it would require amending the constitution.
The Reform Party's head negotiator Pärtel-Peeter Pere said that Reform and Isamaa see eye to eye in this matter. "It needs to stop," he said, but added that Isamaa seemed to be trying to break down an open door, and that the Reform Party is planning to introduce a relevant bill without the need for a constitutional amendment in the parliament this week or the next anyway.
Pere said that Reform decided to propose such a solution after speaking to several experts, including Estonia's new Justice Minister Madis Timpson, and that from there, the fate of the bill will depend on the Social Democrats (who have been opposed to the idea – ed.)."We find it terribly important and believe we could pass such an amendment to the Local Government Election Act. We'll send it to the Riigikogu and let the court decide (whether it can be done without amending the constitution – ed.)," Pere said.
Solman emphasized once more the importance for Isamaa of rooting out Russian influence in Tallinn. "Estonian language and pro-Estonian sentiment are a priority for us, which we will use to remove Russian influence from Tallinn city management."
The Reform Party wants to disband the capital's propaganda service, which covers the newspapers Pealinn and Stolitsa as well as Tallinn TV. "We don't need all that nonsense," Pere said, adding that there are other ways to inform citizens.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi
