Election commission urges Koos party to take bank dispute to court

Estonia’s National Electoral Committee has advised the Koos party to seek a court ruling if it believes a credit institution unlawfully refused to open an account or sign a payment services agreement, ERR reported.

Koos has said it is unable to pay the electoral deposit required for the upcoming parliamentary elections because banks have refused to open an account for the party. It asked the electoral committee for specific guidance on how to pay the deposit without a bank account.

In a response, committee chair Ingrid Kullerkann said the Riigikogu Election Act does not provide a special procedure for paying the deposit when a party has no current account.

“The National Electoral Committee does not have the authority to resolve a dispute over whether a credit institution’s refusal was lawful,” Kullerkann said. If the party believes the refusal was unlawful, it can protect its rights by taking the civil dispute to a county court, she said.

Kullerkann noted that the parliamentary elections will take place on March 7, 2027, and that the lack of a current account could affect the party’s ability to meet the requirements for registering candidates on time.

She recommended that Koos go to court sufficiently early if it wishes to seek legal protection. The party could also request interim measures, including the temporary regulation of the disputed legal relationship during the proceedings. The court would decide on the request and the appropriate measure, Kullerkann said.

Koos was registered on May 8, 2023. Its original proposed name, the Estonian Patriots’ Party Koos, was not approved by the registry department.

The party has 723 members, including Aivo Peterson, who is described as its best-known member and has been convicted of treason in two court instances. According to Norstat’s latest poll, Koos has 1.0 percent support.