The quarterly figures for donations to political parties were published on Friday.

Liisa Oviir, head of the Political Parties Surveillance Committee, said donations received in the first quarter follow a typical pattern that does not warrant special attention from the committee.

"As usual, some of the larger donors come from within the party, people in certain positions, and then there are active citizens who donate to various parties — so it is a normal situation," she told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

The official does not believe the donations made by Margus Vanaselja, owner of Baltic Workboats, who is under criminal investigation, to the Reform Party and Social Democrats are directly problematic.

"It's actually quite common that some entrepreneurs donate to different parties. Whether and how this might be connected to the ongoing criminal case is something only the Prosecutor's Office can comment on," Oviir said.

However, former Res Publica secretary general, now communications expert and political scientist Ott Lumi thinks donations connected to the company are more problematic.

"It's definitely not good form. And I think the parties themselves also understand that," he said.

Lumi said the system established in Estonia 20 years ago — which bans legal entities from donating to parties but places no financial cap on donations by individuals — has run its course.

Creating a new system would require political will from the parliament, which he does not see in the current composition.

Oviir also supports changing the current donation system.

It is quite common to have a legally set maximum donation limit. The goal is precisely to keep undue influence out of politics—so that no individual ends up effectively owning a political party," she said.

Both Oviir and Lumi also consider the low rate of membership fee payments by voluntarily joined party members problematic, but neither has a proposed solution.

"It's a symptom of democracy, or even a symptom of a democracy in crisis," Lumi noted.

"We do not really believe that if a nonprofit's rules say a member can be expelled for not paying dues, that any political party would actually be interested in doing that. And I do not see the legislature being interested in tying this in any way to state budget support—or rather, linking state support to this," said Oviir.

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