"The final touches to the discussion are still being worked out, with debates continuing over the wording of some issues. The general principles have already been agreed upon, meaning international treaties are included, and the voting rights of people with gray passports will be retained. Now, we are refining the wording to make it as good as possible," Terras said.

He said the purpose of the bill is to take away the right to vote from citizens of an aggressor country. In this case, Russia and Belarus.

As a compromise with the Social Democratic Party (SDE), Estonian residents without citizenship – also known as grey passport holders – will retain the right to vote in local elections.

The draft says citizens of the European Union and NATO countries will be able to vote. This could also be expanded to other countries in the future.

EKRE said on Wednesday that it supports an urgent constitutional amendment only if only Estonian citizens can vote.

Terras noted that his party Eesti 200 does not support preserving the voting rights of stateless people, but compromises must be made in politics. "Then it was to be expected that the EKRE would take their support away from there," he said.

"The main question now is whether, at the moment of the decision, whether to do it in a fast-track procedure or not, if EKRE will come to the hall and vote against it, or whether they will not come to the hall and not vote at all. Whether they will not support the bill or whether they will oppose it – that is the key question. If they do not come to the hall to vote against, it can be done in the right timeframe," Terras said, adding that if the EKRE votes against it, the number of votes will fall short.

Coalition MPs will meet for a new round of discussions on Wednesday at 2 p.m. It is planned to submit the bill on Thursday at 10 a.m.

MPs want to pass the amendment before the local elections in October 2025.

Under Estonian law, third country citizens with permanent residency can vote in local elections.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, several political parties have proposed blocking third-country citizens from voting in Estonian elections. The measure is aimed at citizens from countries hostile to Estonia, such as Russia and Belarus.

Some parties, such as SDE, argue not all citizens of these countries should lose their voting rights as many are supportive of Estonia.

There are approximately 83,500 Russian citizens living in Estonia, roughly a third of whom have participated in local elections in past years. They are more likely to vote in local election results in Tallinn and Ida-Viru County.

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