Estonia

The Estonian Parliament

Political system: Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament: Unicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Results

About the election: The Reform Party, now led by Ms. Kaja Kallas, remained the largest party in the 101-member Parliament, taking 34 seats, eight more than Prime Minister Jüri Ratas’s Centre Party (see note 1). The Conservative People's Party (EKRE), a Eurosceptic far-right party, led by Mr. Mart Helme, nearly tripled its share to 21 seats.

On 5 April, President Kersti Kaljulaid tasked Ms. Kallas with forming a new government. However, on 15 April, she failed to receive parliamentary backing to be granted the authority to form a government. The President then tasked the outgoing Prime Minister Ratas with forming a government. His coalition government, formed on 29 April, comprises his Centre Party, the EKRE and the Pro Patria (Isamaa Erakond), which jointly hold 55 seats (see note 2) in the 101-member parliament. It is the first government comprising the EKRE.

During the election campaign, both the Reform Party and the Centre Party – which have alternated in power since Estonia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 – focused on tax changes. The Reform Party promised to create more jobs while the Centre Party focused on measures to boost State revenues. The EKRE, for its part, led an anti-immigrant campaign, warning of an upsurge in crime.

Note 1:

Following the previous elections in 2014, the Reform Party’s former leader, Mr. Taavi Rõivas, had formed a coalition government with the Estonian Social Democratic Party (SDE) and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL). However, he lost a confidence vote in November 2016 after the SDE and the IRL left the coalition. Mr. Ratas’s Centre Party formed a coalition government with the SDE and IRL later in the same month. The IRL was renamed Pro Patria (Isamaa Erakond) in 2018.

Note 2:

One member resigned from the Centre Party and became independent. The coalition thus held 55 seats, instead of 56.
Number of parties winning seats: 5
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition: 33.7%
Alternation of power after elections: Not applicable
Number of parties in government: 3
Names of parties in government: Centre Party, Conservative People's Party (EKRE), Pro Patria (Isamaa Erakond)

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group	Total
Reform Party	34
Centre Party	26
Conservative People's Party (EKRE)	19
Pro Patria (Isamaa Erakond)	12
Estonian Social Democratic Party (SDE)	10

Members elected, by sex

Number of men elected: 71
Number of women elected: 30
Percentage of women elected: 29.7%
Women Directly Elected: 30
Sources: The Estonian Parliament (13.03.2019, 29.04.2019)

State Electoral Office of Estonia (04.07.2019)

https://www.valimised.ee/en

https://www.valitsus.ee

ERR News

BBC Monitoring

BBC

Deutsche Welle

Baltic News Network

New legislature

Total number of men after the election: 71
Total number of women after the election: 30
Percentage of women after the election: 29.7%
First-term parliamentarians: 37
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians: 36.6%
Date of the first session: 04 Apr 2019

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature: Henn Põlluaas (Male)
Date of birth: 1960
Political party: Conservative People's Party (EKRE)
Date of election: 04 Apr 2019

Estonia

The Estonian Parliament

Election results

Background

Candidates

Voter turnout