Key issues
- A constitutional amendment has been adopted, as a result of which citizens of countries that are not members of the European Union will no longer be able to vote in the 2025 municipal elections. In subsequent elections, stateless persons will also be deprived of the right to vote.
- The OSCE/ODIHR report on the security of e-elections and its recommendations.
Political and institutional developments
o political steps have been taken to ease voting restrictions. A long standing issue has continued to be neglected, and no measures have been taken to lift the blanket ban of voting rights for prisoners, despite clear guidance from both the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
There has also been increasing discussion regarding the restriction of voting rights for people under guardianship. This is primarily because the number of guardianship arrangements has doubled over the past ten years, and the proportion of those under guardianship who are deprived of voting rights has increased significantly (from 10% in 2013 to 82% in 2022)..[1]
The Estonian Chamber of People with Disabilities has stated that this is a serious concern, given the growing number of individuals automatically losing their voting rights, and has proposed abolishing restrictions on the exercise of voting rights.[2] This is particularly in line with the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ position that Member States should invalidate all discriminatory provisions that deny people with disabilities the right to vote and to be elected.[3]
Legislative developments
Over the past two years, the proposal to restrict the voting rights of certain groups of residents in municipal elections, which had already been submitted in the previous period, received the most attention. Liia Hänni, a member of the Constitutional Assembly, argued that the Constitution should not be amended to restrict voting rights.[4] She was supported by Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise, who stated that it is generally considered a positive approach to expand human rights and freedoms rather than restrict them.[5]
Under the initial draft, Estonian citizens, stateless residents, and citizens of European Union and NATO countries could participate in municipal council elections. However, before the draft legislation was adopted, an amendment was added stating that the voting rights of third-country nationals residing in Estonia would be invalidated in municipal council elections, and from the following elections onward, stateless persons would also lose the right to vote. In addition, the amendment removed the provision granting voting rights to citizens of NATO member states. Therefore, in the 2025 municipal elections, Estonian and EU citizens as well as stateless residents could vote; from the next municipal elections onward, only Estonian and EU citizens will have the right to vote.[6] President Alar Karis announced the constitutional amendment in April 2025.[7]
According to the amendment to the Parliamentary Election Act adopted in 2024, voters can identify themselves in the electronic voting system not only with identity documents (ID card or Mobile-ID) but also through an equivalent e-identification system. Thus, starting with the 2025 municipal government council elections, voters could also identify themselves using an Estonian Smart-ID account.[8] The law also clearly established the possibility of using mobile voting (m-voting) in future elections. According to the amendment, the National Electoral Committee assesses the suitability of technical solutions before each election and determines, by its decision, the operating systems to be used.[9] While voting with Smart-ID was allowed in the 2025 municipal elections, the National Electoral Committee decided that voting via smartphone would not yet be possible, noting that this issue requires further discussion.[10]
Case law
In February 2024, the Circuit Court upheld a complaint by members of the Isamaa party, who claimed that several candidates in the municipal elections in Elva Municipality did not have a permanent residence in Elva. In October 2024, the Elva Municipal Council asked the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the situation in which there were no legal provisions for the internal verification of residence data. The Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court dismissed the request, adding that the local government is able to verify the accuracy of residence data.[11]
In 2024, 15 complaints regarding the European Parliamentary elections were submitted to the Supreme Court. Most of these concerned, in one way or another, the reliability of electronic voting. The Supreme Court upheld one complaint, rejected ten, and did not review four.[12]
The Kohtla-Järve City Council requested the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the constitutional amendment that prevents citizens of non-EU countries from voting in this year’s municipal elections, arguing that it infringed the local government’s right to self-governance. The request noted that nearly half of Kohtla-Järve’s residents would be excluded from voting due to the restriction of voting rights. The Supreme Court found that, although an amendment made less than a year before the elections could have a negative impact on public confidence, the Constitution was amended in accordance with the proper procedure and the local government’s right to self-governance was not violated. The Court also ruled that granting voting rights only to EU citizens does not conflict with the principle of democracy enshrined in the Constitution.[13]
Statistics and surveys
In February 2025, an OSCE/ODIHR expert team visited Estonia to assess the e-voting system. The visit was requested by Arvo Aller (of the EKRE political party), a member of the Riigikogu Board, who asked for an evaluation of the system’s compliance with the principles of democratic elections. The report noted that positive legislative changes had been made, but political disagreements persist, and further reforms should be based on political and public consensus. The main recommendations include strengthening guarantees for the secrecy and freedom of the vote, conducting legally mandated post-election audits to detect possible violations, and establishing clear criteria for decisions to suspend or terminate e-voting. Estonia’s system is considered internationally to be advanced, but maintaining public trust and ensuring full compliance with international standards requires ongoing transparency, inclusive expert consultation, and clearly defined accountability mechanisms.[14]
Noteworthy public discussions
In addition to previously debated topics, such as restrictions on voting rights and the security of e-voting, a new requirement was introduced: candidates in municipal elections must reside in the same municipality where they are running. The Reform Party proposed that Estonian citizens whose permanent residence is not in the relevant municipality should still be allowed to run in municipal elections. However, the coalition partner Eesti 200 opposed the amendment, arguing that adopting such a proposal would not improve the organisation of local governance.[15]
Case study
According to the European Parliament Election Act,[16] a party or an individual candidate must pay a deposit to the account of the Ministry of Finance for each candidate submitted for registration, an equivalent of five times the minimum wage. Ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections, the party Eestimaa Rohelised (Estonian Greens) submitted a list with nine candidates, but the deposit was paid for only two candidates. As a result, the National Electoral Committee did not register the remaining seven candidates. Eestimaa Rohelised filed a complaint, challenging the constitutionality of the deposit requirement. On May 14, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a ruling emphasising the need to assess the deposit requirement’s compliance with European Union law and decided to submit a question to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling. The Supreme Court noted that the deposit required in Estonia for European Parliament elections is one of the highest in Europe. Since the European Court’s decision would not come into effect before the elections, the Supreme Court decided to grant to Eestimaa Rohelised interim protection and instructed the National Electoral Committee to also register those party candidates for whom the deposit had not been paid.[17]
Recommendations
- Follow the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to ensure the right to vote for all people – including those with limited legal capacity and those under guardianship to protect their interests.
- Amend the relevant laws so that voting restrictions apply only to the prisoners for whom it has been imposed as an additional penalty.
Take into account international and domestic expert recommendations to ensure the transparency of e-voting and to increase public trust in it.
[1] RAKE. 2023. Täisealiste eestkostekorralduse uuring Eestis Sotsiaalministeeriumile, lk 50.
[2] Eesti Puuetega Inimeste Koda. 2025. Eesti Puuetega Inimeste Koja seisukoht perekonnaseaduse, tsiviilkohtumenetluse seadustiku ja tsiviilseadustiku üldosa seaduse eelnõu (eestkoste seadmise muudatused) väljatöötamiskavatsusele, 17.09.2025.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Hänni, L. 2025. Põhiseadus ei vaja ideoloogilist muutmist, 17.01.2025.
[5] Madise, Ü. 2025. Madise: valimisõiguse muutmisel põhiseaduses tuleb palju käikusid ette mõelda, 07.11.2024.
[6] Riigikogu. 2025. Riigikogu võttis vastu valimisõigust piirava põhiseaduse muudatuse, 26.03.2025.
[7] Riigikogu. 2025. Eesti Vabariigi põhiseaduse muutmise seadus 536 SE.
[8] Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon. 2025. E-hääletamise tuvastusvahendite hulka lisandus Smart-ID, 13.01.2025.
[9] Riigikogu. 2024. Riigikogu valimise seaduse muutmise ja sellega seonduvalt teiste seaduste muutmise seadus 344 SE.
[10] Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon. 2025. Sügisestel valimistel saab e-hääletada arvutiga, 13.06.2025.
[11] Riigikohus. Rahvastikuregistri elukoha andmete õigsuse kontrollimiseks õigustloovate aktide andmata jätmise põhiseaduspärasuse kontroll, 26.02.2025.
[12] Riigikohus. 2024. Riigikohtule esitati tänavuste Euroopa Parlamendi valimiste kohta 15 kaebust, 09.06.2024.
[13] Riigikohus. 2025. Valimisõiguse piiramine polnud põhiseadusega vastuolus, 10.10.2025
[14] OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE demokraatlike institutsioonide ja inimõiguste büroo). 2025. Opinion on the regulation of internet voting (Arvamus internetihääletuse reguleerimise kohta).
[15] Alvin, J. ERR. 2025. KOV-valimistel kandideerimisel võib kaduda omavalitsuses elamise nõue, 23.04.2025.
[16] Riigi Teataja. 2024. Euroopa Parlamendi valimise seadus, 24.05.2024.
[17] Riigikohus. 2024. Riigikohus lubab valimistele registreerida kohtusse pöördunud erakonna, 14.05.2025.
