Estonia - March 2025

On 26 March, Parliament approved constitutional amendments revoking the right to vote in local elections for third-country nationals residing in Estonia. The amendments were sparked by national security concerns and debates around the legislation have focused on citizens of Russia and Belarus. The changes will take effect in the upcoming 19 October 2025 local elections. Stateless people, most of whom are Russian-speaking minorities who did not qualify for citizenship at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union, will lose this right starting in 2026. The proposal’s sponsors argued that the transition period would give them time to apply for Estonian citizenship if they wish to vote in future local elections. The bill passed with 93 votes in favour and 7 against under an urgent procedure. In the 2021 local elections, over 139,281 non-citizens were registered to vote (excluding citizens of EU member states) out of a total 1,074,046 people on the register, including 70,446 Russians.  

Sources: Riigikogu (1), Riigikogu (2), ERR (1),  ERR (2), ConstitutionNet, International IDEA