For Eesti 200, the central issue in this fall's elections is securing Estonia's future.

"How Estonia is protected, educated and its people happy — and ten, 20 years from now and beyond," said party deputy chair Aleksei Jašin. "Just as Eesti 200 has always envisioned it."

Eesti 200 will be fielding candidate lists in Estonia's larger cities and in the vicinity of Tallinn. Some of the party's ministers will be running as well.

This weekend, the Reform Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDE) will also be joining Eesti 200 in unveiling their 2025 local election plans.

In these elections, the Social Democrats' primary focus will be on day-to-day well-being.

"Are we fighting for narrow business interests, or for all the people of Estonia, families, small businesses and various regions?" asked SDE secretary general Piret Hartmann. "People's day-to-day well-being is our key issue."

This fall, the SDE will field candidate lists in at least half of the country's local governments, and voters can find Social Democratic candidates on electoral alliances' lists as well.

The Reform Party, meanwhile, plans to participate in as many local governments as possible. Several ministers who were also MPs will be running as well — with the exception of the prime minister.

"We've managed to establish a strong foothold in Ida-Viru County, and just yesterday we established a regional branch in Narva-Jõesuu," said Reform Party secretary general Timo Suslov. "We've also put together a solid team in Narva."

Regarding key election issues, Suslov noted that they vary somewhat from one local government to another.

This time around, Isamaa will be fielding its own candidate lists in the Northeastern Estonian county. The party held its general assembly last weekend.

The Center Party, meanwhile, believes that local politics are directly tied to decisions made in the Estonian capital, on Toompea Hill.

"Local governments depend on state funding, and if state policy continues unchanged, then local governments won't be able to recover from the crisis on their own," warned Center Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart. "Resources are so limited that no matter who is in power, there's nothing to decide."

Center wants to field its own candidate lists in larger local governments, and prefers that party members run under the party banner this fall — although exceptions are possible.

Parempoolsed likewise wants its members to prioritize the party's own candidate lists. For Parempoolsed, Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu and their surrounding municipalities will be key.

The nonparliamentary party also believes Estonia should have fewer local governments than it does now.

"Our key issue in the elections is strong local governments that focus on the economy, that is, the local economic environment — meaning how to attract investments and how local governments can compete," said Parempoolsed chair Lavly Perling.

Estonia's next local government council elections will be held on October 19.

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