The President of Estonia, Alar Karis, has called for new parliamentary elections on Tuesday for March 5, 2023, in which the Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has the advantage to remain in power.
«These elections and the coalition that results from them will decide the path of Estonia for the next four years and beyond,» said Karis, in a statement in which he advocated to leave out of the political debate «accusations and insults» and appealed to citizen participation.
The president has vindicated Estonia’s membership in the EU and NATO, pointing out that now the allies are more necessary than ever, «with Russia waging a war in Ukraine». This conflict is expected to be a key issue in the campaign, as Estonia shares almost 300 kilometers of border with Russia.
Karis has also taken the opportunity to warn that these elections cannot be a «duel» between two parties and warned that this «reductionist» view limits the options and distorts the process as a whole. «I urge the population not to separate the parties between big parties on which everything depends and small parties on which nothing or almost nothing depends,» he added.
Polls currently put the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) in second place, followed by the Estonian Center Party. In total, some 900,000 people are called to vote in the first European country to introduce digital voting, in 2005.
