2011 Estonian parliamentary election

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2011 Estonian parliamentary election
Flag of Estonia.svg
  2007 6 March 2011 2015  

101 seats in the Riigikogu
51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout63.53%
 First partySecond party
  Portrait Andrus Ansip.jpg Edgar Savisaar 2005-crop.jpg
Leader Andrus Ansip Edgar Savisaar
Party Reform Centre
Last election31 seats29 seats
Seats won3326
Seat changeIncrease2.svg2Decrease2.svg3
Popular vote164,255134,124
Percentage28.56%23.32%
SwingIncrease2.svg0.76ppDecrease2.svg2.78pp

 Third partyFourth party
  Mart Laar.png SDE Sven Mikser.jpg
Leader Mart Laar Sven Mikser
Party IRL SDE
Last election19 seats10 seats
Seats won2319
Seat changeIncrease2.svg4Increase2.svg9
Popular vote118,02398,307
Percentage20.52%17.09%
SwingIncrease2.svg2.62ppIncrease2.svg6.46pp

2011. aasta Riigikogu valimiste tulemused.svg
Results by electoral district

Prime Minister before election

Andrus Ansip
Reform

Prime Minister after election

Andrus Ansip
Reform

A parliamentary election was held in Estonia on 6 March 2011, with e-voting between 24 February and 2 March 2011. The newly elected 101 members of the 12th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. The incumbent government of the Reform Party and IRL continued in office until 2014 when Prime Minister Andrus Ansip resigned, ending his tenure as the longest-serving Prime Minister in contemporary Estonian history. He was replaced by Taavi Rõivas who formed a new coalition government with SDE. The Riigikogu elected after this election was the least fragmented in Estonian history, featuring only four parties.

Contents

The election was marked by the highest number of running independents (32) since 1992. Several independent candidates were members of the Estonian Patriotic Movement and many of them would later become known faces in the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), including future leaders Mart Helme and Martin Helme. [1]

Electoral system

The 101 members of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) were elected using a form of proportional representation for a four-year term. The seats were allocated using a modified D'Hondt method. The country is divided into twelve multi-mandate electoral districts. There is a nationwide threshold of 5% for party lists, but if the number of votes cast for a candidate exceeds or equals the simple quota (which shall be obtained by dividing the number of valid votes cast in the electoral district by the number of mandates in the district) the candidate is elected.

Seats by electoral district

The district numberElectoral DistrictSeats
1 Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinn and Kristiine districts in Tallinn9
2 Kesklinn, Lasnamäe and Pirita districts in Tallinn11
3 Mustamäe and Nõmme districts in Tallinn8
4 Harjumaa (without Tallinn) and Raplamaa counties14
5 Hiiumaa, Läänemaa and Saaremaa counties6
6 Lääne-Virumaa county5
7 Ida-Virumaa county8
8 Järvamaa and Viljandimaa counties8
9 Jõgevamaa and Tartumaa counties (without Tartu)7
10 Tartu city8
11 Võrumaa, Valgamaa and Põlvamaa counties9
12 Pärnumaa county8

Opinion polls

Pre-election polls put the Reform Party, led by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, ahead of its main rival, the opposition Centre Party. The former is right of centre, the latter is considered populist, slightly to the left on economic matters. Both parties are members of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Reform was slightly more socially liberal in comparison to Centre, while SDE was the most liberal out of the parties. IRL, meanwhile, was socially conservative, together with Centre. However, most parties had ruled out cooperation with Centre after its leader's controversial comments on regarding the Bronze Night riots and history of scandals.

DatePolling firm Ref Kesk IRL SDE Greens ERL OthersLead Ansip's cabinet – Opposition
6 Mar 11 Election Results 28.623.320.517.13.82.14.65.349.1
-
50.9
25 Feb 11 TNS Emor 2825211642349 - 47
Jan 11 Turu-Uuringute 2519129229637 - 41
Jan 11 TNS Emor 36231614421352 - 43
Dec 10 TNS Emor 36231513541351 - 45
Nov 10 TNS Emor 43231511322058 - 39

Contesting parties

The Estonian National Electoral Committee announced that nine political parties and 32 individual candidates registered to take part in the 2011 parliamentary election. Their registration numbers and order were determined by a draw lot.

#NameIdeologyPolitical positionLeaderTotal candidates2007 result
Votes (%)Seats
1
Greens Green politics Centre-left Aleksei Lotman 1227.1%
6 / 101
2
IRL Liberal conservatism Centre-right Mart Laar 12517.9%
19 / 101
3
Social Democratic Party Social democracy Centre-left Sven Mikser 12510.6%
10 / 101
4
Reform Party Classical liberalism Centre-right Andrus Ansip 12527.8%
31 / 101
5
Centre Party Plurinationalism Centre-left Edgar Savisaar 12526.1%
29 / 101
6
Russian Party Russian minority interests Syncretic Stanislav Tšerepanov 160.2%
0 / 101
7
Independence Party Estonian nationalism Far-right Vello Leito 160.2%
0 / 101
8
People's Union [lower-alpha 1] Agrarianism Centre to centre-left Andrus Blok 887.1%
6 / 101
9
Christian Democrats Christian democracy Centre-right Peeter Võsu 151.7%
0 / 101
Individual candidates 32did not exist

Conduct

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed this election and issued a report with a number of recommendations. [3]

Results

Riigikogu 2011 election.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Estonian Reform Party 164,25528.5633+2
Estonian Centre Party 134,12423.3226–3
Pro Patria and Res Publica Union 118,02320.5223+4
Social Democratic Party 98,30717.0919+9
Estonian Greens 21,8243.790–6
People's Union of Estonia 12,1842.120–6
Russian Party in Estonia 5,0290.8700
Party of Estonian Christian Democrats 2,9340.5100
Estonian Independence Party 2,5710.4500
Independents15,8822.7600
Total575,133100.001010
Valid votes575,13399.12
Invalid/blank votes5,1310.88
Total votes580,264100.00
Registered voters/turnout913,34663.53
Source: VVK

Notes

  1. Members of the Estonian United Left Party ran on the list of the People's Union. [2]

Related Research Articles

Politics in Estonia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in the Estonian parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government, which is led by the prime minister. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Estonia is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, and NATO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonian Reform Party</span> Political party in Estonia

The Estonian Reform Party is a liberal political party in Estonia. The party has been led by Kaja Kallas since 2018. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Democratic Party (Estonia)</span> Political party in Estonia

The Social Democratic Party is a centre-left political party in Estonia. It is currently led by Lauri Läänemets. The party was formerly known as the Moderate People's Party. The SDE has been a member of the Party of European Socialists since 16 May 2003 and was a member of the Socialist International from November 1990 to 2017. It is orientated towards the principles of social-democracy, and it supports Estonia's membership in the European Union. From April 2023, the party has been a junior coalition partner in the third Kallas government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrus Ansip</span> Estonian politician

Andrus Ansip is an Estonian politician, a member of the European Parliament, the former European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission, in office from 2014 until 2019. Previously, he was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2005 to 2014 and chairman of the liberal Estonian Reform Party from 2004 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Estonian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 4 March 2007. The newly elected 101 members of the 11th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. It was the world's first nationwide vote where part of the voting was carried out in the form of remote electronic voting via the internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taavi Rõivas</span> Estonian politician

Taavi Rõivas is an Estonian politician, former Prime Minister of Estonia from 2014 to 2016 and former leader of the Reform Party. Before his term as the Prime Minister, Rõivas was the Minister of Social Affairs from 2012 to 2014. On 9 November 2016 his second cabinet dissolved after coalition partners, Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica and Social Democratic Party, sided with the opposition in a no confidence motion. At the end of 2020, Rõivas announced quitting politics, and resigned from his parliament seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Estonian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 1 March 2015. Advance voting was held between 19 and 25 February with a turnout of 33 percent. The Reform Party remained the largest in the Riigikogu, winning 30 of the 101 seats. Its leader, Taavi Rõivas, remained Prime Minister. The newly elected 101 members of the 13th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. Two political newcomers, the Free Party and the Conservative People's Party (EKRE) crossed the threshold to enter the Riigikogu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Estonian presidential election</span>

An indirect election took place in Estonia in 2016 to elect the president of Estonia, who is the country's head of state. The Riigikogu — the Parliament of Estonia — elected Kersti Kaljulaid to be the next head of state of Estonia to succeed Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who had served his second and final term as president. Kaljulaid is the first female head of state of Estonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 1</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 1 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The electoral district was established in 1995 following the re-organisation of the electoral districts in Tallinn. It is conterminous with the districts of Haabersti, Kristiine and Põhja-Tallinn in Tallinn. The district currently elects 10 of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 85,469 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 2</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 2 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The electoral district was established in 1995 following the re-organisation of the electoral districts in Tallinn. It is conterminous with the districts of Kesklinn, Lasnamäe and Pirita in Tallinn. The district currently elects 13 of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 111,135 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 3</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 3 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The electoral district was established in 1995 following the re-organisation of the electoral districts in Tallinn. It is conterminous with the districts of Mustamäe and Nõmme in Tallinn. The district currently elects eight of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 71,882 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 4</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 4 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The district was established as electoral district no. 5 in 1992 when the Riigikogu was re-established following Estonia's independence from the Soviet Union. It was renamed electoral district no. 4 in 1995 following the re-organisation of electoral districts. It is conterminous with the counties of Harju and Rapla. The district currently elects 15 of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 133,437 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 5</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 5 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The district was established as electoral district no. 6 in 1992 when the Riigikogu was re-established following Estonia's independence from the Soviet Union. It was renamed electoral district no. 5 in 1995 following the re-organisation of electoral districts. It is conterminous with the counties of Hiiu, Lääne and Saare. The district currently elects six of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 51,093 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 6</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 6 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The district was established in 2003 when the existing electoral district no. 6 was split into two. It is conterminous with the county of Lääne-Viru. The district currently elects five of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 44,583 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 8</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 8 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The district was established as electoral district no. 7 in 1995 following the re-organisation of electoral districts. It was renamed electoral district no. 8 in 2003 following another re-organisation of electoral districts. It is conterminous with the counties of Järva and Viljandi. The district currently elects seven of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 61,657 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 10</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 10 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The district was established as electoral district no. 9 in 1995 following the re-organisation of electoral districts. It was renamed electoral district no. 10 in 2003 following another re-organisation of electoral districts. It is conterminous with the municipality of Tartu. The district currently elects eight of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 67,525 registered electors.

An indirect election took place in Estonia on 30 and 31 August 2021 to elect the president of Estonia, who is the country's head of state. The Riigikogu — the Parliament of Estonia — elected Alar Karis to serve in the office and he was sworn in as the 6th president on 11 October 2021. The incumbent, Kersti Kaljulaid, was eligible to seek reelection to a second, and final, term but failed to gain the endorsement of at least 21 MPs, which is required in order for a candidate to register, as she was outspoken against some of the policies of the government, who thus denied her support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 11</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 11 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The district was established in 1992 when the Riigikogu was re-established following Estonia's independence from the Soviet Union. It was renamed electoral district no. 10 in 1995 following the re-organisation of electoral districts but reverted to electoral district no. 11 in 2003. It is conterminous with the counties of Põlva, Valga and Võru. The district currently elects eight of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 70,706 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riigikogu electoral district no. 12</span> Electoral district of Estonia

Electoral district no. 12 is one of the 12 multi-member electoral districts of the Riigikogu, the national legislature of Estonia. The district was established in 1992 when the Riigikogu was re-established following Estonia's independence from the Soviet Union. It was renamed electoral district no. 11 in 1995 following the re-organisation of electoral districts but reverted to electoral district no. 12 in 2003. It is conterminous with the county of Pärnu. The district currently elects seven of the 101 members of the Riigikogu using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 parliamentary election it had 66,852 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Alliance (Estonia)</span> Political alliance in Estonia

Triple Alliance is a commonly used political term in Estonia to refer to the various coalition governments between the centre-left Social Democratic Party, centre-right Reform Party and conservative Isamaa or their predecessors. This coalition has formed four times in history - from 1999 to 2002, from 2007 to 2009, from 2015 to 2016 and from 2022 to 2023. None of the coalitions governments have lasted a full parliamentary term. All of the Triple Alliance cabinets have been the second ones of the respective Prime Minister.

References

  1. "Delfi: Telestuudiosse kogunes 28 üksikkandidaati". Archived from the original on 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  2. "Kommunistid kandideerivad riigikokku Rahvaliidu nimekirjas". Eesti (in Estonian). 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  3. OSCE (2011-05-16). "OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Report - ESTONIA PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 6 March 2011" . Retrieved 2011-05-18.