"On the anniversary of the restoration of Estonia's independence, I discussed amending the Presidential Election Act with members of the August 20th Club, and I definitely plan to discuss this with the leaders of the Riigikogu factions as well," Lauri Hussar told ERR.

According to Hussar, Estonia has repeatedly faced issues that have raised questions about whether the Presidential Election Act should be amended, and therefore, these matters should be thoroughly discussed today, two years before the next presidential election.

One of the issues that Hussar believes requires attention is the deadline for nominating a presidential candidate.

"The current law states that a presidential candidate must be nominated four days before the vote. When we consider the problems this causes, it unfortunately suggests the possibility of backroom political dealings or a lack of opportunity for meaningful public political debate," Hussar said.

"The nomination deadline in this law needs to be reconsidered," Hussar stated.

The current law specifies that the registration of presidential candidates begins at 9 a.m. on the fourth day before the first round of voting and ends at 6 p.m. on the second day before the voting day.

The optimal deadline should emerge from the upcoming discussions, but in Hussar's view, previous years have shown that four days is definitely not sufficient.

"If we put forward the candidates on Friday evening, we are already voting the following week. This deadline certainly needs to be extended," Hussar noted.

"This would also avoid the situation faced by all media organizations that invite potential presidential candidates to debates, saying that while they may not yet be official candidates, they should still participate in the debate so we can discuss these issues. If the candidates were clearly identified, it would be possible to have a meaningful public and political debate," Hussar added.

Another issue that, according to Hussar, deserves attention is the fact that in the current election process, voters cannot ask the candidates questions.

"This could also be considered somewhat of an anachronism. The Riigikogu groups should certainly consider whether allowing questions to be posed to the candidates would be reasonable. The current coalition has also adopted the stance that questions should be posed to ministerial candidates before they are confirmed," Hussar said.

Hussar added that while questions to ministerial candidates have so far been posed in Riigikogu committees, there is now a discussion about whether ministerial candidates could be heard in the Riigikogu chamber.

Additionally, the Presidential Election Act should be reviewed concerning issues related to the election of the president by the electoral college.

According to Hussar, one of the topics that need attention is the proportionality of electors. For instance, in a small municipality, one elector may represent 130-140 people, whereas in a large city like Tallinn, one elector represents slightly less than 30,000 people.

Under the current law, the number of local government council representatives is allocated as follows: one representative for up to 10,000 eligible Estonian citizens; two representatives for 10,001-50,000 eligible Estonian citizens; four representatives for 50,001-100,000 eligible Estonian citizens; and ten representatives for over 100,000 eligible Estonian citizens.

Hussar also highlighted the ongoing issue regarding the origin of the electors.

"If Russian citizens can vote in local council elections and potential electors are elected to the electoral college with their support, then their influence could, in theory, play a role in the presidential election. This is certainly a question that needs to be considered – whether it requires change or not," Hussar pondered.

Hussar emphasized that any changes should bring clarity to the society regarding how the presidential election process is conducted.

"In the history of Estonia's presidential elections, there have been moments of significant confusion, and when there is a lot of confusion, it harms not only Estonian politics but also the reputation of Estonia's democracy and parliament. Greater clarity is definitely needed here," Hussar noted.

He recalled that in 2016, the government at the time promised to address this issue and began developing an initiative, but unfortunately, no one has seen that initiative. He plans to meet with faction leaders shortly after the Riigikogu convenes in full session in the second week of September to discuss this matter.

The current Presidential Election Act was adopted in April 1996. It stipulates that a presidential candidate must receive two-thirds of the votes in the Riigikogu. If this is not achieved in three rounds of voting, the decision is passed to the electoral college.

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