Brussels, 02/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Reform Party (ER, Centre-Right Liberal) of the young out-going prime minister, Taavi Roivas, topped the polls in the Estonian general election on Sunday 1 March, taking 27.7% of the votes cast and winning 31 of the 101 seats in parliament.
Six parties will take their place in the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, two more than in the last legislature. The Centre Party, the main Left-wing opposition party which attracts most of the Russian-speaking vote, took 24.8% of votes and 27 seats. The other parties that will form the Estonian parliament are the Social Democrats (15.2%, 15 seats), the conservative IRL (13.7%, 14 seats), the Liberals (8.7%, 8 seats) and the popular conservative and Eurosceptical Ekre (8.1%, 7 seats).
Current coalition partners, Reform and the Social Democrats, no longer have the majority and will have to find a new ally if they are to remain in power. One Estonian voter in five cast his/her vote by internet. The turn-out was 63.7%
Events in Ukraine are being closely watched in Estonia, a former Soviet republic and now NATO member state. Estonia has a population of 1.3 million, a quarter of whom are Russian speaking. (Mathieu Bion)