Estonian Left Alliance to contest parliamentary elections

The Estonian Left Alliance plans to run in the spring parliamentary elections, with protecting workers’ rights as its main focus, ERR reported. The party’s younger members say it is effectively a new political force, despite having grown out of an existing party.

The alliance emerged from the United Left Party of Estonia, described in the article as a successor to the Estonian Communist Party. In the 2023 parliamentary elections, the party received enough votes, with support from Aivo Peterson, who was convicted of treason, to qualify for an annual state budget grant of 30,000 euros.

After the last parliamentary elections, young people with left-wing views joined the party and began working to change its policies and historical image. The party elected a new board last year and adopted the name Estonian Left Alliance.

Nikita Leo, 27, who plans to seek a place on the party’s board later this month and run in the parliamentary elections, told ERR that the organisation was practically a new party. Members had preferred to establish a new party, he said, but decided to use the existing structure because setting one up in Estonia is difficult.

The party has just over 500 members, of whom about 60 to 70 are active. Leo said all active members had joined after the rebranding, while most older members were not currently involved. He described the alliance as a young party, with an average age among active members in their twenties.

The alliance expects to field a relatively small number of candidates and is also seeking people from outside the party to join its list. Leo said limited funds made a full list difficult. The deposit for a full list is 118,250 euros, while the deposit for an individual candidate is less than 1,000 euros. He said the party could cover the deposits for the candidates it planned to put forward.

Leo said the party considers the cost of standing for election a barrier and wants the system changed. Its election platform is nearly complete, he said. The alliance’s central aim is to defend workers’ interests, particularly in conflicts between employees and owners, Leo added.