Hanso calls Estonia’s presidential election system undemocratic

Estonia’s presidential election system is opaque and unsuitable for a 21st-century liberal democracy, diplomat and former politician Hannes Hanso told ERR.

In an interview for the discussion programme Impulss, to be broadcast on ETV on Tuesday evening, Hanso said presidential candidates are identified and gather support largely behind closed doors. He said candidates should be known and hold public debates well before the final stage of the election.

Hanso said he had not actively sought the presidency but would accept an offer if his competence and experience could be used in the role for Estonia. He said the attention surrounding his comments had affected a planned family holiday in Estonia.

However, Hanso stressed that a president had not yet been elected. He said the election would most likely take place on September 2 and that he wished the new president happiness and success. He also said he would put a picture of the new president in his office in Washington as soon as possible.

Hanso said the positive feedback he received from people had been encouraging, but that the experience had also exposed weaknesses in the system.

“Many people are either ashamed or afraid to say that they have ambitions to run for president,” he said. Instead, he added, political manoeuvring begins behind the scenes.

Hanso said that if Estonia wants a non-political head of state, the election process should not turn into “political theatre or a dance routine”.

Although Estonia is highly democratic by any international standard, he said the presidential election process relies largely on secrecy and political scheming, which does not fit with the country’s broader political system.

Hanso questioned where the public discussions and debates had been before the president was elected by the Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament, and whether one candidate was better than another.

“There simply were none. In my view, this is a systemic weakness,” he said.

Hanso said he had previously served as a member of the Riigikogu and taken part in a presidential election, but had not viewed the process in the same way at the time. Having now gained more direct experience of it, he said he no longer considered the system appropriate for a 21st-century liberal democracy.

He said changing the system would primarily require a political agreement. While he did not know exactly how it should be amended, he said negotiations and agreements conducted out of public view should not determine the process.

Hanso also questioned whether a European democracy or the United States could be imagined where, just a few weeks before an election, the candidates were still not properly known. He said such campaigns should take place well before the final stage of the election.