Plebiscite development short on time

Photo: Dmitri Kotjuh / Järva Teataja

Despite the National Electoral Committee finding that Estonia’s marriage plebiscite cannot be held on April 25 as initially agreed, the government on Thursday said that the public vote will go ahead on schedule. Head of the State Electoral Office Arne Koitmäe said that while completing the new elections information system is possible, it would require additional manpower and funding.

Legislation is set to enter into force next year that will see Estonia switch to electronic voter lists. This will allow people to cast their vote everywhere in Estonia irrespective of where their registered polling division is located. Electronic voter lists require new software developments that were scheduled to be completed by the time of local government council elections in the fall of 2021. The marriage plebiscite was initially meant to coincide with the local elections but was moved up to late April following the penultimate government crisis.

Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center Party) said that the government still aims to hold the plebiscite in late April or mid-May at the latest despite software development plans and that problems will be addressed.

“It is an item of the coalition agreement and we will, of course, address these concerns,” Ratas said at the government press conference on Thursday. “It requires two readings in the Riigikogu. The main focus has been on technical issues over the last few says, making sure elections are secure and the new system is thoroughly tested.”

Developing new system sensible

Head of the State Electoral Office Arne Koitmäe said that the State Information System’s Authority (RIA) has put together a plan for completing the VIS 3 elections information system by the time of the plebiscite. “Everything can be done in the end,” he said. However, it will require additional manpower, resources etc.

The system should be at least partially finished by the time of the plebiscite. Head of elections information systems development at RIA Alo Einla told ERR that if the plebiscite is scheduled for April 25, the system should be completed much earlier for information to be fed into it, people trained and security tests carried out. To make sure everything works, the plebiscite could be postponed by a month.

Minister of Finance Martin Helme (Conservative People’s Party) said that the vote will go ahead on paper if necessary as democracy should not depend on technological solutions. “Referendums are very simple: you need a list of registered voters and a ballot paper with a box next to options ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ We will hold the vote on paper if necessary. The referendum will not be canceled over a missing plugin,” Helme said.

Arne Koitmäe said that holding the plebiscite using paper ballots would require the entry into force of amendments to introduce electronic voter lists to be postponed as the latter would otherwise be required by law. The official added that paper ballots would have to be used and votes counted physically in that case.

Koitmäe believes that completing the new information system by spring is the better option. “We do not have a good solution for postponing the entry into force of the new law. We would have to dust off the old information system for one last use so to speak that also requires effort. We would be developing both the old and new systems simultaneously,” he said, adding that focusing on the latter instead would be more sensible as it can also be used at upcoming elections.

The two initial versions of the public vote that has also been referred to as the marriage referendum (legal experts disagree on whether Estonian law provides for non-binding referendums – ed.) were released on October 29 and immediately drew heavy criticism. “Does the Republic of Estonia recognize marriage only as a union between a man and a woman?” and “Is marriage only valid as a union between a man and a woman in the Republic of Estonia?” (The questions were described as redundant since the Family Act currently states that marriage is a union between a man and a woman – ed.)

A single question and plebiscite topic to remain

Two new options have now surfaced: “Should marriage remain a union between a man and a woman” vs “Does marriage need to remain a union between a man and a woman?”

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has been consulted on the latter phrasing.

“I believe it should be legally competent,” said chairman of junior coalition partner Isamaa Helir-Valdor Seeder.

Jüri Ratas said that the matter of whether to ask other questions has been put to bed and marriage will be the only topic. “The question has been agreed on, but since we are still working on the bill, we will have a final agreement once all details are set,” the PM said.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise wrote on social media that she will not analyze the phrasing of the question before the matter lands in the Riigikogu. The justice chancellor’s final position will be voiced after the plebiscite decision has been passed.

Public broadcaster ERR wrote on Thursday that the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE) has vowed to introduce so many motions to amend to make processing of the plebiscite bill impossible. The same tactic was successfully used against a coalition bill to dissolve the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (ERJK) in spring.