Referendum on its way to be shelved

The Riigikogu on Monday decided to send the marriage referendum draft resolution to its second reading. Photo: Madis Veltman

Following several hours of questions and answers, the Riigikogu on Monday decided to send the marriage referendum draft resolution to its second reading where it might nevertheless stay for good.

Forty-eight MPs voted in favor of scrapping the bill, while 51 supported sending it forward. The coalition’s votes held as the Center Party made good on the promise of faction chair Kersti Sarapuu. Only Oudekki Loone (Center) and Imre Sooäär had questions. Junior coalition partner Isamaa MPs Siim Kiisler, Viktoria Ladõnskaja-Kubits and Üllar Saaremäe voted against the bill as they had previously promised to do.

Even though it might seem that members of the coalition have made peace moving closer to Christmas, appearances can be deceiving. Factions now have 10 days to introduce motions to amend.

The opposition has vowed to enter into proceedings thousands of motions to amend to see the bill get stuck in the Constitutional Committee (as was done with a coalition bill that sought to disband the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee). The Center Party has also promised to introduce motions to amend.

Coalition keeping cards close

Member of the Center Party faction Imre Sooäär, who has said he is not in favor of the current phrasing of the referendum question, voted in favor of keeping the bill in proceedings on Monday despite assurances by Siim Pohlak (EKRE) that there are no plans to amend it.

It is clear that voting on thousands of motions to amend would take too long for the referendum to take place on April 18 as a corresponding bill needs to be passed three months before the vote. Proposals in terms of how to escape the situation include tying motions to amend together or amending the Riigikogu Rules and Procedures Act to render such obstruction impossible. Center’s Jaanus Karilaid remains against the latter option.

Opposition MPs said during the Riigikogu sitting on Monday that the bill fails to explain the legal consequences “yes” or “no” answers would have, as well as the problem the referendum aims to solve in the first place. It was also suggested on numerous occasions that the coalition is addressing irrelevant matters at the height of the coronavirus crisis.

The coalition accused opposition of the same thing. “We cannot pause democracy one part of which this referendum is for the duration of the coronavirus crisis, while I cannot understand this kind of torpedoing of the parliament’s work,” Siim Pohlak said.

Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) delegates tried to convince the opposition not to put forward thousands of motions to amend.

“When the coalition changes eventually and sees every bill met with 50,000 motions to amend – bags full of documents bearing different dates from a huge printer somewhere – I would not like to be on the receiving end of that,” head of the Constitutional Committee Anti Poolamets (EKRE) said.

Supreme Court to decide

Neither Pohlak nor EKRE chairman Martin Helme wished to say how the coalition plans to counter the opposition’s stalling tactics. Helme admitted the matter could end up in the Supreme Court.

“We are under no illusion in terms of this matter landing in the Supreme Court whichever way we decide to process it,” Helme said, adding that making sure the bill passes its first reading was hard enough.

Chairman of the Center Party Jüri Ratas and Riigikogu group head Kersti Sarapuu avoided answering the question of whether and how Center plans to make efforts to see its coalition partner’s bill pass through parliament. “The Center Party definitely wants to observe the coalition agreement,” the PM said.

If the coalition fails to find a solution, the bill will be shelved in the Constitutional Committee. Factions have until December 30 to file motions to amend.