One apparent point of contention is removing the rights of third-country nationals resident in Estonia to vote in municipal elections; in other words, the same elections that give the parties elected to Tallinn City Council a mandate.

Isamaa has said it is in favor of this policy, whereas SDE has noted that it would be a constitutional matter, not one to be decided at the Tallinn City Government level.

Commenting on the negotiations from the sidelines, former Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart (Center) said forming a new coalition is not proving easy, given four parties are involved in the talks.

Kõlvart told ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) on Monday: "Looking from the outside, it seems that a combination of the European Parliament election campaign, coveting the mayoral position, building a metro, and merging hospitals into one solution has proven somewhat challenging."

"A simple shared animosity against the Center Party is not sufficient motivation to find consensus," he went on.

One person tipped to replace Kõlvart as Tallinn mayor, SDE Tallinn leader Jevgeni Ossinovski, told AK disagreements over voting rights should not be allowed to be a stumbling block in the negotiations.

He said: "On this fundamental issue, there are also substantive differences between the various Riigikogu parties. Second, it is not addressing this matter at Tallinn municipal politics level is not viable."

Isamaa's lead negotiator Riina Solman, a former population minister, said national matters facing the whole of Estonia and the ongoing Tallinn coalition negotiations, are inextricably intertwined.

Solman told AK: "During the Tallinn coalition agreement negotiations, we have been discussing many issues that simultaneously affect both the country and the capital."

"Those who claim that the affairs of the Estonian state and Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, are not related, are lying," she went on.

As to the prospects of the talks making a breakthrough in the talks, Solman added: "Let's take things step by step, and gradually. Tomorrow (Tuesday – ed.), we will talk about amending the Constitution in this matter. So we will listen to their position," referring primarily to SDE's stance on third country nationals' votes, which, she said, is set in stone.

"That's my understanding from their side. If we're talking about the other parties all agreeing and prioritizing this," Solman continued.

Ossinovski elaborated: "We have certainly been unequivocal in that amending the [Estonian] Constitution does not lie within the competence of the Tallinn city council."

"Plus I believe we will not shift on that stance," Ossinovski added.

Nonetheless, Reform's chief negotiator, Pärtel-Peeter Pere, said the substantive text of the coalition agreement is almost finalized, with only a few things to wrap up.

Pere said: "We could potentially finalize everything by this evening; figuratively speaking within a couple of hours, or, if we require more time, then by Wednesday, I would say."

Kõlvart said that his party is not holding parallel coalition talks.

Center and the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) will be in opposition if a Reform-Isaamaa-SDE-Eesti 200 coalition agreement is signed.

The negotiations continue on Tuesday.

"Third country" broadly speaking means any non-EU/EEA nation though, while not referenced by name, removing citizens of these nations' voting rights – which they hold in local elections if resident in Estonia – focuses on those held by Russian and Belarusian citizens.

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