Vertical Accountability
#6Key Findings
Estonia performs well in international comparison (rank 6) with regard to vertical accountability.
Elections are free and fair, with a proportional representation system in which most candidates are registered within party lists. Political parties are required to submit financial reports that are publicly accessible. The voting age is 18 for national elections and 16 for local elections, but noncitizens, who make up 16% of the voting-age population, can vote only in local elections.
Two impartial administrative bodies administer the elections. Advance and online voting are both becoming more common. The state is increasingly providing voting information in Russian, seeking to increase ethnic minority engagement. Political polarization has increased in recent years, hampering cross-party cooperation.
While access to public information is regulated by the Public Information Act, critics say this act favors the rights of data subjects rather than those requesting access to information. Official websites and portals offer access to government information.
Elections are free and fair, with a proportional representation system in which most candidates are registered within party lists. Political parties are required to submit financial reports that are publicly accessible. The voting age is 18 for national elections and 16 for local elections, but noncitizens, who make up 16% of the voting-age population, can vote only in local elections.
Two impartial administrative bodies administer the elections. Advance and online voting are both becoming more common. The state is increasingly providing voting information in Russian, seeking to increase ethnic minority engagement. Political polarization has increased in recent years, hampering cross-party cooperation.
While access to public information is regulated by the Public Information Act, critics say this act favors the rights of data subjects rather than those requesting access to information. Official websites and portals offer access to government information.
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To what extent is political competition among candidates and political parties free and fair?
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There are no barriers, by law or in practice, to effective political competition.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose no significant obstacles to effective political competition.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose some significant obstacles to effective political competition.
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1
Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose various significant obstacles to effective political competition.
The principles of fair and free elections are laid out in the Estonian constitution. Estonia has a proportional representation electoral system, meaning that most candidates are registered within party lists. All 13 registered political parties can submit their list of candidates. The composition of party lists is determined by the internal procedures set by the statute of the political party. In addition to political parties, two or more citizens can form an election coalition to participate in municipal elections. Every citizen who has the right to stand as a candidate may nominate themselves as an independent candidate.
To be eligible as a candidate, a person must be an Estonian citizen. Any citizen of the European Union may stand as a candidate for a local government council or the European Parliament. Candidates for the Riigikogu and the European Parliament must be at least 21 years old, while candidates for local government councils must be at least 18 years old.
Individuals who are active members of the Defense Forces, have been divested of their active legal capacity with regard to the right to vote, or have been convicted of a crime and are serving a sentence in a penal institution cannot stand as candidates. However, individuals with conditional prison sentences may stand as candidates.
A deposit equal to the monthly minimum wage must be paid for each candidate. The eligibility of all candidates is reviewed by an independent body – the National Electoral Committee (NEC) – according to criteria set in the electoral laws.
The disputes that arise during the organization of elections are settled according to the procedures outlined in the election acts. Since election complaints must be resolved quickly, the election acts mandate a pre-judicial procedure. The right to review complaints has been granted to county electoral committees at the first instance and the NEC at the second instance. A resolution or act by the NEC can be contested directly in the Supreme Court. The law sets short time limits for the review of complaints.
Political parties are required to maintain accurate financial records, disclose the nature and value of received donations, and present their accounts quarterly to the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (PPFSC). Additionally, parties and independent candidates must submit their reports on the funding of their election campaigns within one month after elections. All financing reports are publicly available on the PPFSC website. In the event of violations, sanctions are imposed. Illegal donations must be returned to the donor or – if this is impossible – paid to the State Treasury. For example, based on sanctions imposed by the PPFSC and the court ruling, the Center Party paid €843,000 to its former media partner, Midfield LLC, for campaign services in 2009 – 2015 (EPB 2022).
Candidates and parties have fair opportunities to access public and social media; there are no restrictions based on ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, language, religion or social origin. After the 2023 parliamentary elections, the issue of possible influence on election results by politically oriented NGOs has come into the public focus. Such NGOs advocate for particular ideologies by publishing opinion polls or research notes, which arguably may tilt voters’ choices. To date, organizations affiliated with political parties (think tanks, parties’ youth organizations) are not obliged to report to the PPFSC, meaning some services or benefits that parties receive are not duly declared in campaign reports. The PPFSC and the Riigikogu are expected to discuss relevant amendments to the Act on Political Parties (EPB 2023).
Citations:
Political Parties Financial Surveillance Committee. https://www.erjk.ee/en/financing-reports/election-campaigns
Estonian Public Broadcast. 2022. “Keskerakond tasus keelatud annetuse 843 000 eurot. May 2. https://www.err.ee/1608587518/keskerakond-tasus-keelatud-annetuse-843-000-eurot
Etonian Public Broadcast. 2023. “Valitsus kavatseb poliitiliste sihtasutuste tegevust reguleerida.” June 1. https://www.err.ee/1608995804/valitsus-kavatseb-poliitiliste-sihtasutuste-tegevust-reguleerida
To be eligible as a candidate, a person must be an Estonian citizen. Any citizen of the European Union may stand as a candidate for a local government council or the European Parliament. Candidates for the Riigikogu and the European Parliament must be at least 21 years old, while candidates for local government councils must be at least 18 years old.
Individuals who are active members of the Defense Forces, have been divested of their active legal capacity with regard to the right to vote, or have been convicted of a crime and are serving a sentence in a penal institution cannot stand as candidates. However, individuals with conditional prison sentences may stand as candidates.
A deposit equal to the monthly minimum wage must be paid for each candidate. The eligibility of all candidates is reviewed by an independent body – the National Electoral Committee (NEC) – according to criteria set in the electoral laws.
The disputes that arise during the organization of elections are settled according to the procedures outlined in the election acts. Since election complaints must be resolved quickly, the election acts mandate a pre-judicial procedure. The right to review complaints has been granted to county electoral committees at the first instance and the NEC at the second instance. A resolution or act by the NEC can be contested directly in the Supreme Court. The law sets short time limits for the review of complaints.
Political parties are required to maintain accurate financial records, disclose the nature and value of received donations, and present their accounts quarterly to the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (PPFSC). Additionally, parties and independent candidates must submit their reports on the funding of their election campaigns within one month after elections. All financing reports are publicly available on the PPFSC website. In the event of violations, sanctions are imposed. Illegal donations must be returned to the donor or – if this is impossible – paid to the State Treasury. For example, based on sanctions imposed by the PPFSC and the court ruling, the Center Party paid €843,000 to its former media partner, Midfield LLC, for campaign services in 2009 – 2015 (EPB 2022).
Candidates and parties have fair opportunities to access public and social media; there are no restrictions based on ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, language, religion or social origin. After the 2023 parliamentary elections, the issue of possible influence on election results by politically oriented NGOs has come into the public focus. Such NGOs advocate for particular ideologies by publishing opinion polls or research notes, which arguably may tilt voters’ choices. To date, organizations affiliated with political parties (think tanks, parties’ youth organizations) are not obliged to report to the PPFSC, meaning some services or benefits that parties receive are not duly declared in campaign reports. The PPFSC and the Riigikogu are expected to discuss relevant amendments to the Act on Political Parties (EPB 2023).
Citations:
Political Parties Financial Surveillance Committee. https://www.erjk.ee/en/financing-reports/election-campaigns
Estonian Public Broadcast. 2022. “Keskerakond tasus keelatud annetuse 843 000 eurot. May 2. https://www.err.ee/1608587518/keskerakond-tasus-keelatud-annetuse-843-000-eurot
Etonian Public Broadcast. 2023. “Valitsus kavatseb poliitiliste sihtasutuste tegevust reguleerida.” June 1. https://www.err.ee/1608995804/valitsus-kavatseb-poliitiliste-sihtasutuste-tegevust-reguleerida
To what extent can all citizens, both in legal terms (de jure) and in practice (de facto), exercise their right to vote?
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There are no significant barriers, by law or in practice, that hinder citizens or specific groups in society from exercising their right to vote.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose no significant obstacles to voting.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose some significant obstacles to voting.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose various significant obstacles that substantially hinder voting.
The Estonian constitution and relevant laws guarantee universal suffrage. The voting age is 18 for national and European elections and 16 for municipal elections. About 6% of the population, or 16% of the voting-age population, are non-citizens who cannot vote in parliamentary elections but have the right to vote in local elections. EU citizens residing in Estonia can vote in municipal and European Parliament elections (National Electoral Committee 2023). Estonian citizens residing abroad, about 10% of the electorate, can vote in all Estonian elections either at an Estonian embassy or online. The Referendum Act and the election acts (2021) allow voters to choose the most convenient polling station in their electoral district.
State authorities maintain the voter register based on population-register data. Eligible voters take no action to be included in the voter register. Each registered voter is informed by mail or email about all voting options, including the voting day and the location and opening hours of polling places in their municipality.
Two impartial bodies administer the elections. The National Electoral Committee (NEC) – consisting of seven members, mainly with a background in law – ensures compliance with the principles of freedom, generality, uniformity and directness of voting, as well as the secrecy of voting. The State Electoral Office (SEO) is an independent unit within the Chancellery of the Riigikogu that organizes voting in Estonia and abroad, prepares the ballot papers, and acquires the equipment necessary for conducting the voting. The SEO employs legal specialists and professionals in the area of IT systems and cybersecurity. At the subnational level, voting district committees are established to organize voting at polling places within the territory of a voting district. Half of the members of the voting district committee are presented by the rural municipality or city secretary. The remaining members are presented by political parties, while considering the principle of political balance. Members of the committee must not campaign.
Multiparty elections in Estonia are held every four years according to a set schedule, including elections for local government councils, the Riigikogu and the European Parliament. To facilitate voter participation, Estonia employs advance voting, home voting and internet voting.
Advance voting is available for six days prior to election day. Both advance voting and online voting are gaining in popularity; in the 2023 parliamentary elections, 74% of all votes were cast before election day, while 51% were cast online. The rate of home voting, however, has declined, likely due to the ease of internet voting and the high level of digital literacy in Estonia. For instance, more than 33% of voters aged 75 and above voted electronically (National Electoral Committee, 2023).
The secrecy and cybersecurity of online voting are taken very seriously, and amendments to electoral laws to provide a more detailed description of these aspects are currently in preparation.
In all elections, Estonia uses an open-list proportional system with a simple ballot design where voters write down the number of their preferred candidate, or tick their preferred candidate online. Invalid ballots constitute a minor share of the total, less than 1% of all ballots cast, suggesting that the ballot design is easy to understand (National Electoral Committee, 2023).
The modest degree of engagement by ethnic minorities in election processes has long been a concern. To address this issue, state authorities are providing more voting information in Russian. The National Electoral Committee (NEC) website now offers election information in three languages: Estonian, Russian and English. Additionally, tools for disabled persons have been added to the website.
Citations:
National Electoral Committee. 2023. https://www.valimised.ee/en/archive/statistics
State authorities maintain the voter register based on population-register data. Eligible voters take no action to be included in the voter register. Each registered voter is informed by mail or email about all voting options, including the voting day and the location and opening hours of polling places in their municipality.
Two impartial bodies administer the elections. The National Electoral Committee (NEC) – consisting of seven members, mainly with a background in law – ensures compliance with the principles of freedom, generality, uniformity and directness of voting, as well as the secrecy of voting. The State Electoral Office (SEO) is an independent unit within the Chancellery of the Riigikogu that organizes voting in Estonia and abroad, prepares the ballot papers, and acquires the equipment necessary for conducting the voting. The SEO employs legal specialists and professionals in the area of IT systems and cybersecurity. At the subnational level, voting district committees are established to organize voting at polling places within the territory of a voting district. Half of the members of the voting district committee are presented by the rural municipality or city secretary. The remaining members are presented by political parties, while considering the principle of political balance. Members of the committee must not campaign.
Multiparty elections in Estonia are held every four years according to a set schedule, including elections for local government councils, the Riigikogu and the European Parliament. To facilitate voter participation, Estonia employs advance voting, home voting and internet voting.
Advance voting is available for six days prior to election day. Both advance voting and online voting are gaining in popularity; in the 2023 parliamentary elections, 74% of all votes were cast before election day, while 51% were cast online. The rate of home voting, however, has declined, likely due to the ease of internet voting and the high level of digital literacy in Estonia. For instance, more than 33% of voters aged 75 and above voted electronically (National Electoral Committee, 2023).
The secrecy and cybersecurity of online voting are taken very seriously, and amendments to electoral laws to provide a more detailed description of these aspects are currently in preparation.
In all elections, Estonia uses an open-list proportional system with a simple ballot design where voters write down the number of their preferred candidate, or tick their preferred candidate online. Invalid ballots constitute a minor share of the total, less than 1% of all ballots cast, suggesting that the ballot design is easy to understand (National Electoral Committee, 2023).
The modest degree of engagement by ethnic minorities in election processes has long been a concern. To address this issue, state authorities are providing more voting information in Russian. The National Electoral Committee (NEC) website now offers election information in three languages: Estonian, Russian and English. Additionally, tools for disabled persons have been added to the website.
Citations:
National Electoral Committee. 2023. https://www.valimised.ee/en/archive/statistics
Graph View
To what extent do parties articulate and aggregate all societal interests?
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There are no barriers, by law or in practice, to achieving effective societal integration.
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Existing obstacles in the party system, by law and in practice, pose no significant barriers to achieving effective societal integration.
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Existing obstacles in the party system, by law and in practice, pose some significant barriers to achieving effective societal integration.
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Existing obstacles in the party system, by law and in practice, pose various significant barriers to achieving effective societal integration.
Estonia uses a party-list proportional electoral system, which, unlike the winner-take-all system, allows for a more balanced representation of societal interests in local councils and the Riigikogu (parliament). In parliamentary elections, the threshold for eligibility is 5% of the national vote. In 2023, three such parties exceeded this mark. Six parties are represented in the current (15th) Riigikogu (National Electoral Committee 2023).
All main political parties have local branches, and their rights and autonomy are regulated by statutes. Since Estonia is a small country with a two-tier administrative system, regional political interests are not particularly salient. By and large, the extent to which local entities are able to voice local problems at the national level depends on the particular person or branch.
Political parties in the legislature represent significant societal interests, the main cleavage being between liberalism/openness and conservatism/nationalism. Some specific interests, such as those of farmers, are not explicitly represented by any political party. Similarly, the Greens and parties representing national minorities, including Russian speakers, are not popular enough to enter the legislature. Nonetheless, these interests are represented to some extent by other parliamentary parties, notably the Social Democrats and the Center Party.
Party manifestos are publicly available on party websites and attract significant media attention. Because the political climate has become more tense in the last decade, party manifestos have become more distinct, especially in relation to “soft” values such as gender equality, sexual orientation, marriage, religious issues and freedom of speech.
Citations:
National Electoral Committee. 2023. “Votes and Seats by Political Parties.” https://rk2023.valimised.ee/et/election-result/index.html
All main political parties have local branches, and their rights and autonomy are regulated by statutes. Since Estonia is a small country with a two-tier administrative system, regional political interests are not particularly salient. By and large, the extent to which local entities are able to voice local problems at the national level depends on the particular person or branch.
Political parties in the legislature represent significant societal interests, the main cleavage being between liberalism/openness and conservatism/nationalism. Some specific interests, such as those of farmers, are not explicitly represented by any political party. Similarly, the Greens and parties representing national minorities, including Russian speakers, are not popular enough to enter the legislature. Nonetheless, these interests are represented to some extent by other parliamentary parties, notably the Social Democrats and the Center Party.
Party manifestos are publicly available on party websites and attract significant media attention. Because the political climate has become more tense in the last decade, party manifestos have become more distinct, especially in relation to “soft” values such as gender equality, sexual orientation, marriage, religious issues and freedom of speech.
Citations:
National Electoral Committee. 2023. “Votes and Seats by Political Parties.” https://rk2023.valimised.ee/et/election-result/index.html
To what extent do political parties retain their ability to enable cross-party cooperation in policymaking and implementation?
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There are no barriers, by law or in practice, to achieving effective cross-party cooperation.
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Existing obstacles in the party system, by law and in practice, pose no significant barriers to achieving effective cross-party cooperation.
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Existing obstacles in the party system, by law and in practice, pose some significant barriers to achieving effective cross-party cooperation.
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Existing obstacles in the party system, by law and in practice, pose various significant barriers to achieving effective cross-party cooperation.
In the first decades of the 21st century, the political landscape in Estonia could be characterized as modestly polarized, with principles of liberal democracy and parliamentarism generally adhered to. This situation changed radically in 2019, when the populist far-right Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) entered parliament and was included in the ruling coalition for almost two years. After performing worse than expected in the 2023 elections, EKRE adopted a completely obstructive position with regard to legislative work. EKRE’s obstructions included taking frequent unnecessary breaks during sessions and submitting hundreds of irrelevant correction proposals to bills. These tactics, used persistently by EKRE and occasionally by other opposition parties, led the government to bind many votes with a vote of confidence. In such cases, the executive has considerable power over the legislature (Act on the Rules of Procedure of the Riigikogu).
In the fall of 2023, the speaker of the Riigikogu convened a special commission of experts to determine a way out of the parliamentary stalemate. The country’s president additionally held consultations with political parties, but neither initiative led to a positive outcome.
Cross-party cooperation within the executive is much smoother. Disputes are resolved through informal negotiations among coalition partners, and policy development or implementation is not significantly hampered. However, some disagreements can drag on in public, such as the dispute between the minister of education (Estonia 200) and the minister of finance (Reform Party) over teacher salaries in 2023 during a nationwide teacher strike in early 2024.
Citations:
Riigikogu kodukorra seadus. 2003. https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/833705
In the fall of 2023, the speaker of the Riigikogu convened a special commission of experts to determine a way out of the parliamentary stalemate. The country’s president additionally held consultations with political parties, but neither initiative led to a positive outcome.
Cross-party cooperation within the executive is much smoother. Disputes are resolved through informal negotiations among coalition partners, and policy development or implementation is not significantly hampered. However, some disagreements can drag on in public, such as the dispute between the minister of education (Estonia 200) and the minister of finance (Reform Party) over teacher salaries in 2023 during a nationwide teacher strike in early 2024.
Citations:
Riigikogu kodukorra seadus. 2003. https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/833705
Graph View
To what extent can citizens and residents access official information?
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There are no barriers, by law or in practice, for citizens seeking to access official information.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose no significant obstacles for citizens seeking to access official information.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose some significant obstacles for citizens seeking to access official information.
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Existing barriers, by law and in practice, pose many/various significant obstacles for citizens seeking to access official information.
The main principles of access to public and official information are laid out in the constitution. Additional regulations are provided in the Public Information Act and the Personal Data Protection Act. These acts are enforced by the Data Protection Inspectorate (DPI), which functions as an ombudsman, preliminary court, educator, adviser, auditor and law-enforcement agency. A recent study (Pild et al. 2022) highlighted the controversial role of the DPI in supervising state information holders while monitoring compliance with personal data protection.
The national strategic policy has been to advance access to information by using official websites and portals. Estonia maintains an official gateway to all government information and public services (eesti.ee). All municipalities, political parties and government institutions must maintain a website containing at least the information defined by legal acts. The DPI monitors state authorities’ web pages and document registries, as well as municipalities’ websites.
Public access to information is expected to be prompt and straightforward, with restrictions strictly defined by law. Any citizen or resident can submit an oral or written information request to the government, and officials must provide a response within five working days. In the case of complex inquiries, the deadline may be extended to 15 working days. The obligations of authorities under the PIA are not only to provide information but also to assist the public in accessing documents. This concern becomes more acute as the amount of big data increases and its usage becomes technically more sophisticated. Another recent issue is the tendency of the public sector to limit access to documents. According to a report by Arenguseire Keskus, the wording of PIA emphasizes only the balancing of the rights and freedoms of the data subject, not of those requesting access. As a result, the number of occasions on which an institution can restrict public access to a document by labeling it “for internal use only” has increased from eight to 25 (Pild et al. 2022: 12).
Citations:
Pild, M., Turk, K., Kose, K., Lehemets, M. 2022. Avaliku teabe kasutamise võimalused. Uuring.
https://arenguseire.ee/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022_avaliku-teabe-kasutamise-voimalused_uuring.pdf
The national strategic policy has been to advance access to information by using official websites and portals. Estonia maintains an official gateway to all government information and public services (eesti.ee). All municipalities, political parties and government institutions must maintain a website containing at least the information defined by legal acts. The DPI monitors state authorities’ web pages and document registries, as well as municipalities’ websites.
Public access to information is expected to be prompt and straightforward, with restrictions strictly defined by law. Any citizen or resident can submit an oral or written information request to the government, and officials must provide a response within five working days. In the case of complex inquiries, the deadline may be extended to 15 working days. The obligations of authorities under the PIA are not only to provide information but also to assist the public in accessing documents. This concern becomes more acute as the amount of big data increases and its usage becomes technically more sophisticated. Another recent issue is the tendency of the public sector to limit access to documents. According to a report by Arenguseire Keskus, the wording of PIA emphasizes only the balancing of the rights and freedoms of the data subject, not of those requesting access. As a result, the number of occasions on which an institution can restrict public access to a document by labeling it “for internal use only” has increased from eight to 25 (Pild et al. 2022: 12).
Citations:
Pild, M., Turk, K., Kose, K., Lehemets, M. 2022. Avaliku teabe kasutamise võimalused. Uuring.
https://arenguseire.ee/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022_avaliku-teabe-kasutamise-voimalused_uuring.pdf