Estonian Prime Minister: Russian citizens should not vote already in next elections

Prime Minister Kristen Michal. Photo: Tairo Lutter

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal has said the government will try an strip Russian and Belarusian citizens of their right to vote in local elections in Estonia already before next year's local polls.

«My wish would be to act as simply and clearly as possible in electoral matters and to say that Russian and Belarusian citizens will not participate in the elections,» Michal said on a Postimees webcast on Monday. «That's the debate we're going to have. There will certainly not be a solution in a few weeks, but I hope that we will still be able to formulate it together. If the partners disagree, everyone will vote according to their conscience.»

According to the prime minister, the best outcome would be to revoke the right to vote by the next local elections.

«It will be a quite tight timeframe, even if we amend the Constitution as a matter of urgency, but the possibility still exists. I think the most important message is that it will be done. If we cannot amend the Constitution as a matter of urgency, it can be done by two consecutive Riigikogu compositions. It will just come into force later. For me, the important thing is that it gets done,» he said.

Michal said the position of the Reform Party has long been that Russian and Belarusian citizens should not participate in political decision-making in Estonia.

«People should make a choice about whether they want to live in Estonia and engage in Estonian affairs or participate in the affairs of Russia and Belarus,» he said, adding that his conversation with Estonia 200 leader Kristina Kallas and Social Democrat leader Lauri Läänemets led to an outcome where the Social Democrats began to seek a solution.

«Thus, we should not condemn those who are looking for a solution,» Michal stated.

«The solution they came up with was not discussed with us beforehand, they proposed it as their own idea. However, I would appreciate that they moved from a completely negative position to a position supported by the other coalition partners,» the premier added.