29.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Social Democratic Party (SDE) chair Indrek Saar said his party would back Kersti Kaljulaid for a second term as Estonian president, adding that if she were not to receive wider backing, the party would consider other candidates. He has also expressed skepticism over the claimed Reform/Center agreement on a candidate.

29.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Center Party leader and speaker of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas may be proposing academic Tarmo Soomere as a presidential candidate, ERR reports.

28.07.21 NEWS ... The quest for a presidential candidate ahead of the election process starting at the end of August has lost sight of the importance of a head of state who can effectively represent Estonia at an international level and in its foreign policy goals, Reform MEP Urmas Paet says. To that extent, former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves would be suitable, he added.

28.07.21 NEWS ... Opposition parties have participated in discussions to find Estonia's next president but said these talks have not involved all the details. EKRE believes the president will not be elected in the Riigikogu this year.

28.07.21 POLITICS ... While support for the coalition Reform Party and for the opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) have both been rising – in Reform's case to beyond the 30 percent mark, the coalition Center Party has seen its support move in the opposite direction, and is now lower than at any time in recent years.

27.07.21 NEWS ... Chairman of the Center Party Faction of the Riigikogu Jaanus Karilaid criticized President Kersti Kaljulaid's actions as president and essentially ruled out supporting her for a second term.

26.07.21 NEWS ... The Reform and Center parties have found potential presidential candidates and will introduce them to the party factions on Monday.

21.07.21 NEWS ... The Estonian Conservative People's Party's (EKRE) presidential candidate Henn Põlluaas started a campaign tour of Estonia on Wednesday and will visit all counties in Estonia.

21.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... This autumn's local elections in Estonia will return 1,717 councilors nationwide, twelve down on the last elections to local government in 2017.

21.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... A continued fall in support for the coalition Reform Party has slowed over summer, while the opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) has consolidated its position as second-most-widely-supported party, according to a recent survey.

20.07.21 POLITICS ... Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) is on vacation for most of the rest of July. Minister for Public Administration Jaak Aab (Center) is deputizing for her during that time.

20.07.21 NEWS ... Former Minister of Justice Jüri Raidla has rejected a proposal by the coalition parties to run for president of Estonia.

16.07.21 NEWS ... Social Democratic Party (SDE) Chairman Indrek Saar has appealed to party leaders to find a joint candidate for the Riigikogu to elect at the upcoming presidential election in August.

15.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... The search for a suitable presidential candidate for the elections starting at the end of August is going well, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) has said. However, the individual, who has not been named, has yet to be persuaded to run.

14.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... The gap in support between the coalition Reform Party and the opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) is continuing to narrow, according to a recent survey.

13.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Leaders of three of Estonia's political parties say that they want this year's presidential elections to be decided at the Riigikogu and not continue via the electoral college. At the same time, none of them have suggested a candidate who could facilitate this.

12.07.21 NEWS ... Bigbank owner Parvel Pruunsild made a donation of €100,000 to Isamaa Party in the second quarter of 2021. Entrepreneur Koit Uus supported Center Party and Reform Party with €30,000 for each.

10.07.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... The continued vexed question of how the presidential elections might even get going, with just a month-and-a-half to go, was the subject of a Vikkeraadio politics talk show Saturday, with one panelist saying that in his view, Estonia's political parties are playing a long game, despite calls for the head of state to get elected as soon as possible.

08.07.21 NEWS ... A long-serving Tallinn city government bureaucrat is stepping down after two decades working in the capital's financial department, noting the role and management at the local authority had evolved over that time.

07.07.21 POLITICS ... The opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) has seen its support continuing to rise according to a recent weekly poll. Support for the larger of the two coalition parties, Reform, has remained static, meaning the gap between the two has closed further.

05.07.21 POLITICS ... The Conservative People's Party of Estonia's (EKRE) congress on Sunday elected Martin Helme to continue as party chairman and Mart Helme, Henn Põlluaas and Jaak Madison as deputy party chairmen.

05.07.21 NEWS ... In the upcoming municipal elections in October, there will be an increased number of polling stations and it will be possible to vote outside of your home district.

02.07.21 NEWS ... On August 30, the Riigikogu will meet to elect Estonia's next president. But with less than two months to go, there is still no election campaign to speak of.

21.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Isamaa need not fear failing to win seats at October's local elections, neither should it worry about the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) making inroads into its voter base, Helir-Valdor Seeder, returned as party leader for a second term Sunday, told ETV news show 'Aktuaalne kaamera'.

20.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Helir-Valdor Seeder has been returned as leader of the opposition Isamaa party by a comfortable margin, seeing off a challenge from former prosecutor general Lavly Perling. At an in-person meeting in over-thirty-degree-heat in Tartu, the session took longer than expected, due to a reading error relating to one ballot vote, while the final results were out around seven in the evening.

19.06.21 NEWS ... Free kindergarten places for all children and free swimming sessions for pensioners were two of the pledges made by the Center Party on Saturday when it unveiled its local election pledges.

18.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Solman, who was population affairs minister in the previous administration, told ERR Friday that she was: "Considering [running for Tallinn mayor]. This is not one hundred percent. If there are still some great [Isamaa] candidates, I won't be canceling the summer vacation, since the last two years have been such a busy time that there has been no time left for family and personal life."

18.06.21 OPINION ... The Estonian people do not need the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), though they equally do not need any of the other current parties – be it the coalition partners Reform and Center, opposition parties Isamaa and the Social Democrats (SDE), or the non-parliamentary Eesti 200 or the Greens, former IT and foreign trade minister Kaimar Karu noted on his social media page Thursday.

16.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Support for the opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) has reached its highest-ever level, according to one recent poll, narrowing the gap between it and the larger of the two coalition partners, Reform, whose support has dipped below the 30 percent mark for the first time this year.

15.06.21 POLITICS ... Opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa MPs are to submit a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) to the Riigikogu Tuesday.

14.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Deputy mayor of the southern Estonian town of Viljandi, Janika Gedvil is to run for Eesti 200 in this October's local elections. Gedvil had been a member of Isamaa up until now.

14.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... The presidential elections in Estonia are to start on August 30, following Riigikogu speaker Jüri Ratas' (Center) announcement that the chamber would be called for an extraordinary sitting on that date.

13.06.21 NEWS ... The Estonian Greens' list of candidates in Tallinn will be many times bigger than in the past at upcoming local government council elections, with the party prioritizing anti-corruption efforts, Tallinn mayor candidate Züleyxa Izmailova tells ERR in an interview. The Greens aim for a coalition seat in the capital.

12.06.21 NEWS ... Speaking on the "Nadala tegija" program of Kuku Radio, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said that each president must adapt to the circumstances and play the role of a so-called liaison in society.

11.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... The October local elections see several reforms to the system, which the National Electoral Commission has introduced, including more flexibility on choice of polling stations, a lift on the ban on pre-election outdoor party advertising, and changes to the e-voting schedule.

11.06.21 NEWS ... According to ERR's knowledge, Loone Ots, a cultural historian and pedagogical scientist will be the mayor candidate for Tartu of the Estonian Conservative People's Party (EKRE).

11.06.21 NEWS ... Folk musician and former Mayor of Viljandi Ando Kiviberg has been announced as the mayor candidate for Viljandi for the Eesti 200 party.

11.06.21 NEWS ... A fresh member of the Center Party, Minister of the Interior Kristian Jaani told ERR on Thursday that he intends to run in local government elections in October. When it comes to his worldview, the former Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) official said he still sees things as a policeman, which provides him with an important sense for internal security.

09.06.21 POLITICS ... Support for the major political parties in Estonia remain unchanged this week, according to a recent survey.

09.06.21 POLITICS ... Mass immigration will be one of the main topics at this autumn's local elections, Riigikogu speaker Henn Põlluaas (EKRE) says, adding that the phenomenon must be curbed.

08.06.21 POLITICS ... A vote of no-confidence in defense minister Kalle Laanet (Reform) has failed to pass at the Riigikogu, 57 against versus 42 in favor, meaning the motion picked up support from MPs outside Isamaa and the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), the two opposition parties who tabled the motion.

08.06.21 POLITICS ... Two former foreign ministers and political heavyweights say that the Estonian government should be more proactive and assertive in dealing with Finland's policy of keeping its borders closed to ferry-borne commuters coming from Estonia, reportedly in violation of European Commission principles on free movement. The question is more a political one than one of health-care, the pair said, at a time when Finland goes to the polls Sunday in its local elections.

07.06.21 NEWS ... The Social Democratic Party (SDE) selected their candidate for mayor of Tartu on Sunday who will run at the upcoming local elections this autumn.

06.06.21 NEWS ... The council of the Conservative People's Party (EKRE) approved its nationwide elections platform at the Paide Music and Theater Hall on Saturday. The platform highlights five reasons for voting for EKRE at fall local government council elections. Henn Põlluaas was confirmed as the party's candidate for the fall presidential elections.

05.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Local governments are calling for part of a one-billion-euro recovery funding packaged to be put towards investments in education and digitization.

05.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Two candidates have put themselves forward as leader of the opposition Isamaa party ahead of this month's party convention in Tartu, and October's local elections.

05.06.21 2021 ELECTIONS ... Opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE) leader Indrek Saar says that the Reform/Center coalition's foisting of cuts on society, particularly in its recent state budget strategy program announced last month, heighten societal inequalities, creating a fertile ground for the growth of populist movements and may end up with a situation where Estonia could resemble more the United Kingdom, and not so much the Nordic countries.

05.06.21 POLITICS ... Prime minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) says that after a difficult birth, trust within the Reform-Center coalition has improved and the political landscape is being prettified. Much is to be done in the coming months, however, both in the ongoing fight against the pandemic and despite falling rates, and in implementing financial discipline at the state level – even with the unexpected economic growth which seems to be accompanying that fall in coronavirus rates.

03.06.21 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said on Thursday that while incumbent Kersti Kaljulaid definitely is one of potential candidates for the next president of Estonia, as things stand there is not enough support for Kaljulaid's candidacy in the parliament.

03.06.21 OPINION ... We are not electing a president for a political party, we are electing the president of Estonia. We do not need to search for a political product but a truly gifted and educated person, Raul Rebane finds in Vikerraadio's daily comment.