This includes couples who are both involved in politics.

The "Pealtnägija" report highlighted a court ruling relating to Elva rural municipality in South Estonia, which found that local authorities must verify whether local council electoral candidates and council deputies truly reside in the municipality in question – at least if suspicions arise on that.

This goes beyond just Elva too; the ruling applies to other municipalities.

At the same time, politicians have in some cases not been disclosing their primary residence in their responses, even as they enumerate all residences.

Riigikogu MPs may also sit as local councilors – indeed many MPs do so – though they may not take up a local government position.

The Helmes

Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) leader and MP Martin Helme and his spouse, Eeva, are both local councilors – in Lääneranna Rural Municipality (Eeva) in western Estonia, and in Tallinn (Martin).

This would raise the rather delicate question of whether they even cohabit most of the time.

Eeva Helme answered by stating they simply have two homes, and divide their time between them.

"Martin and I live together, in both homes," she said.

"In that sense, we are two pretty fortunate people who happen to have two homes: One in the countryside and one in the city," she went on.

The decision to enter politics in Lääneranna stemmed from the Covid-19 pandemic, she added, as this had necessitated her spending more time at the country home, together with the couple's children.

"If you have lived in one place for two years – even though I have already had links with Lääneranna municipality for about 24 years now – you naturally become a part of the community.

"You develop friendships and connections there, and you start to care about what happens in that area. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have run in the 2021 local elections, in Lääneranna," Eeva Helme went on.

Lauri Läänemets

Social Democratic Party (SDE) chairman and Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets is another local councilor, this time in Türi, Järva County.

Läänemets has already said he will be running in Türi at the October 2025 local elections.

Läänemets' advisor, Vootele Päi, told "Pealtnägija" that while Läänemets' child attends kindergarten in the capital, the family also resides some of the time in Väätsa, 10 kilometers north of Türi.

Päi said: "Lauri has an apartment and a plot of land in Väätsa."

"He divides his time between Tallinn and Väätsa, spending weekends there, plus on occasion weekdays, when travels across Estonia make that more logical," he went on.

Päi pointed out that there are many similar cases in various walks of life where people work in one location, and live in another, as well as in local and national politics.

"Many people from Järva County commute to work in Tallinn. Even Madis Kallas has split his professional life between Saaremaa and Tallinn," he noted, referring to Läänemets's SDE party-mate.

The Kõlvarts

Center Party chair and former Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart and his wife, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, are both members of Tallinn city council. Anastassia is a Riigikogu MP also.

The couple resides in Maardu, just outside Tallinn, and stated in a joint response that their work necessitates having two residences.

The communique read: "Our busy work schedules do not permit us to live in just the one place, such as solely in Maardu."

"For this reason, we each have an additional residence in Tallinn, where we can also stay overnight and store our belongings," they went on.

Additional addresses can be added to the population register, but only the permanent residence address is legally binding.

The Kõlvarts said their permanent address is listed in Tallinn, adding they believe this means all requirements are complied with.

"The law does not stipulate what proportion of time one must spend at a given address. What is relevant is that the registered address genuinely belongs to you, and is actively used as a place of residence," the Kõlvarts went on, emphasizing that they have no fictitious registrations listed.

Jaanus Karilaid

Jaanus Karilaid, formerly of Center and now an Isamaa MP, is a long-serving Haapsalu councilor – though he has recently said he will be wrapping up this latter role.

Karilaid has even more places to hang his hat, though not as owner of these residences, telling "Pealtnägija": "I spend four to five days out of seven in Lääne County," the location of Haapsalu.

"As a Riigikogu representative for Läänemaa, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa [electoral district], my workplace is designated as Tallinn, but I stay overnight in Tallinn, Haapsalu, and Kuressaare (Saaremaa) and Kärdla (Hiiumaa)."

"My official registration is in Haapsalu," Karilaid added.

He owns no other apartments or houses in his name, he went on.

Aivar Kokk

Aivar Kokk, also a Riigikogu MP with Isamaa and a long-serving local councilor in Jõgeva, has not specified his primary residence, though public sources indicated this is likely in Tartu.

In a brief response, Kokk listed his homes as being in Tartu, Siimusti (just outside Jõgeva) and in Tallinn.

"My taxes have been paid in Jõgeva since 1983, and I have been a council member since 1989," he said.

Another political couple, with EKRE, Anti and Evelin Poolamets, both MPs, did not respond to "Pealtnägija's" requests ahead of the show's airing, but have in the past stated they primarily reside in Kulina mõis in Vinni municipality, Lääne-Viru County.

At the last municipal elections, Evelin Poolamets ran for the Vinni municipal council while Anti Poolamets ran in the neighboring Rakvere municipality, which is listed as his residence.

The issue has appeared in the media in recent years with other politicians too. At the last local elections in 2021, former culture minister Indrek Saar (SDE) ran in Nõmme, in Tallinn, though is ordinarily resident in Lääne-Viru County.

Early on this year, Kalle Laanet (Reform) stood down as defense minister in the wake of revelations his landlord in Tallinn, where he rented accommodation, was also his stepson.

The issue of registered residences versus actual residences in practice is a frequently addressed one in Estonia, given the size of the country and pre-eminence of Tallinn as a workplace but a deep-seated wish to spend time in the natural environment too.

While having more than one residence is perfectly legal, the predominant one should be the official residence – for taxation purposes, for instance, and in the case of public figures such as politicians even greater scrutiny is applied.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!