Estonia’s election deposit ruled constitutional

Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has found that the deposit required to stand in parliamentary elections is not disproportionate, ERR reported.

Candidates in the upcoming Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament, elections must pay a deposit of 946 euros each. As a party may nominate up to 125 candidates nationwide, submitting a full list would require a deposit of 118,250 euros.

Madise reached the conclusion after Märt Meesak, chairman of the Eesti Rahvusliberaalid Vabaerakond party, asked her to assess the constitutionality of Section 30(5) of the Riigikogu Election Act. The provision requires a party or independent candidate to pay into the Finance Ministry’s account, before submitting candidates for registration, an amount equal to the monthly minimum wage set by the government in the year the election is announced for each candidate submitted.

Madise said the provision was not contrary to the Constitution, including the principle of universal elections or the fundamental rights of political parties.

“The deposit requirement does not excessively restrict the right to stand in Riigikogu elections,” Madise said. An independent candidate or party receives the deposit back if the candidate is elected, receives at least half of the simple quota in the electoral district, or if the party’s candidates collectively receive at least 5 percent of the national vote.

According to Madise, the main purpose of the deposit is to prevent a situation in which too many voters remain unrepresented because they have voted for a list or independent candidate that fails to cross the electoral threshold and does not enter parliament.

She noted that the Supreme Court had previously found a deposit requirement in Riigikogu elections constitutional and proportionate even when it was twice the current amount. Earlier legislation set the deposit at two months’ minimum wage, she said, meaning there was even less reason to consider the current one-month requirement disproportionate.

Madise also recalled that in a report to parliament on June 13, 2019, she called for consideration of abandoning the deposit requirement. She suggested that independent candidates could instead be required to collect a fixed number of signatures of support.

“The right to stand for election would in fact be best protected if candidates were given several ways to demonstrate their seriousness,” Madise said, adding that what is advisable is not necessarily required by the Constitution.