Free Party asks Estonia to scrap parliamentary election deposits

Estonia’s Free Party has asked the Chancellor of Justice to review and abolish the deposit system for parliamentary elections, ERR reported. The party says the requirement violates the principles of equal and proportional elections.

Party leader Märt Meesak submitted the application to Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise on Thursday, requesting a constitutional review of the current system ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections.

According to the party, fielding a full list of candidates in the 2027 elections will require parties to pay more than 100,000 euros in deposits. It said the sum creates an insurmountable financial barrier for new and non-parliamentary political forces.

The Free Party said it introduced the term “cartel parties” into Estonia’s political vocabulary more than a decade ago, referring to efforts by parliamentary parties to lock new entrants out of the political landscape.

When it held seats in parliament from 2015 to 2019, the party’s parliamentary group initiated a bill to amend the Parties Act and election laws with the aim of opening up the political system. In 2014, the party also collected signatures for a citizens’ initiative seeking to halve state funding for parliamentary parties. The initiative was submitted to parliament but rejected.

Meesak said the current system had become absurd because parliamentary parties effectively pay their large deposits with taxpayers’ money through state budget funding.

“The current system does not assess the seriousness of candidates, but the size of their bank accounts,” Meesak said. “Voting rights must not be a luxury product in Estonia that only those close to the state purse can afford.”

The party said its application was prompted by recent developments in European Union law. It cited the opinion of Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta in case C-438/24, which it said found that the disproportionality of Estonia’s deposit system and the lack of non-monetary alternatives violate the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The Free Party also said the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights had repeatedly criticised Estonia and recommended easing the conditions for standing in elections. A European Court of Justice ruling on the issue is expected soon, the party said.

The party is asking the Chancellor of Justice to formally propose that parliament bring election law into line with the Constitution before the 2027 elections. It says deposits should either be drastically reduced or replaced with a system of supporting signatures to demonstrate a candidate’s seriousness without measuring the size of their wallet.

“We cannot approach the 2027 parliamentary elections with a system that is legally and morally bankrupt,” Meesak said, calling for Estonia’s political system to be opened up and fair competition restored.