Kaja Kallas to become its first female PM after poll in which Eurosceptic EKRE made gains

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Estonia is on track for its first female prime minister after the opposition liberal Reform party won the general election, outpacing the governing centre-left party, and a surging far-right party buoyed by a backlash from mostly rural voters.

Kaja Kallas, a lawyer and former MEP who leads Reform, wooed voters by promising to cut taxes and unemployment insurance premiums in an attempt to aid job creation.

Issues such as taxation and public spending dominated the election on Sunday, along with tensions over Russian-language education for the sizeable Russian minority, and the rural-urban divide.

Reform won 28.8% of the vote, ahead of the Centre party on 23%, while the far-right Conservative People’s party (EKRE) more than doubled its previous vote share to 17.8%. Turnout was just over 63%.

Kallas, a Europhile, is the daughter of the former Estonian prime minister Siim Kallas, who also led the Reform party before serving as a European commissioner.

If she can assemble a viable coalition, Kallas will govern in tandem with the president, Kersti Kaljulaid, Estonia’s first female head of state, who took office in 2016.

Kallas, who promised to “put together the government and start running the country with common sense”, said Reform would consider coalitions with three of the four other parties that entered parliament, ruling out EKRE as “not a choice for us”.

She said Reform has “strong differences” with Centre over taxation, citizenship and education.

Asked whether his Centre party would consider becoming a junior coalition partner, Jüri Ratas said “of course”, but declined to elaborate.

With a combined total of 60 seats in the 101-seat parliament, the two parties could govern jointly as they have in the past.

Centre and Reform have alternated in government over the nearly three decades since Estonia broke free from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Both parties strongly support Estonia’s EU and Nato membership, which they see as a buffer against Russia.

They have favoured austerity to limit public spending, giving the country the eurozone’s lowest debt-to-GDP ratio.

Centre had vowed to increase pensions by 8.4% and replace the flat income tax rate of 20% and corporate tax rate of 21% with a progressive system to increase state revenue.

Unemployment is at just under 5%, while economic growth is expected to slow to 2.7% this year.

Kallas could also woo two other parties that currently govern in a coalition with the Centre party – the Social Democrats and the conservative Isamaa – to obtain a 56-seat majority.

While it won only seven seats at the 2015 election, EKRE now has 19, after winning support by promising to slashing income and excise taxes, and through anti-immigration messages.

Experts said its appeal is largely rooted in the misgivings of rural Estonians, who feel left behind after years of austerity.

The EKRE leader, Mart Helme, raised the idea of a coalition with Centre and Isamaa commanding a 57-seat majority, according to the public broadcaster ETV/ERR.

The Eurosceptic party has called for an “Estxit” referendum on Estonia’s EU membership, although the move would fail in the overwhelmingly pro-EU country.

The party’s suspicion of Moscow translates into strong support for Nato membership and the multinational battalion the alliance installed in Estonia in 2017 to deter potential Russian actions.

Tõnis Saarts, a Tallinn University political scientist, described EKRE’s position on liberal democracy – including civic and human rights, rule of law and the separation of powers – as “very ambiguous” and compared it to similar parties that have recently gained support across Europe.

The Centre party has long been favoured by Estonia’s Russian minority, which makes up about one-quarter of the country’s population of 1.3 million people.

This group had counted on Centre to preserve the existing education system, which incorporates Estonian and Russian-language schools, while Reform and EKRE want to scrap Russian-language teaching.</s>TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Latest on Estonia's general election (all times local):

A center-right party that held the prime minister's office in Estonia for over a decade has a good-sized lead with ballots from more than half of polling stations counted.

Results from 280 of the small Baltic country's 451 polling places gave the Reform Party 32.3 percent of the vote in a parliamentary election held Sunday.

The party held the prime minister's post continuously from 2005-2016

The senior partner in the current coalition government, Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party, had overcome a far-right nationalist party to reach second place with 18 percent.

Reform and Center both hope to keep the nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party from increasing its presence in parliament. EKRE was running third with 17.3 percent.

Many of the returns so far are from smaller districts. The percentages could change greatly once counts come in from large districts in Estonia's capital, Tallinn.

The first results from a parliamentary election in Estonia put the main opposition party ahead and a far-right populist party placing ahead of the main party in the coalition now governing the small Baltic country.

With ballots from 122 of 451 polling stations counted, the center-right Reform Party had 37 percent of the vote from Sunday's election. The party held the prime minister's post continuously from 2005-2016

The nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party had 15 percent and Prime Minister Juri Ratas' left-leaning Center Party had 13.4 percent of votes.

Some 26 percent of Estonia's nearly 1 million eligible voters made their choices online by a Feb. 27 electronic voting deadline. Those votes were tallied first and included in the polling station results.

Polls have closed in Estonia, where voters cast ballots in a parliamentary election that was expected to be a close race between the left-leaning party of the current prime minister and the main center-right opposition party.

Both Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party and the center-right Reform Party shared the goal of keeping the nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party at bay.

Sunday's election in the small Baltic country, a member of both NATO and the European Union, took place as the far-right Estonian Conservative People's Party, appears to be gaining popularity.

Nearly 1 million voters were eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

Officials said voter turnout was 57 percent four hours before polls closed.

The leader of Estonia's main opposition party has voted in the general election and accused Prime Minister Juri Ratas' government of "messing up" the small Baltic nation's taxation system.

Estonians are voting Sunday in a general election where the opposition center-right Reform Party is challenging Ratas' left-leaning Center Party with a focus on socio-economic issues, such as taxation.

Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas told The Associated Press while voting in central Tallinn that "the topic that most people talk about are the taxes" and that Ratas' Cabinet "has totally messed (up) the tax system, excise duties, income tax system and people are really annoyed by this."

Among other things, Ratas' government has substantially increased excise duties on alcohol, partly on health grounds, and reformed Estonia's flat income tax, a cornerstone of the economy. Estonia has one of the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths in Europe.

Estonians have started voting in a parliamentary election in the small Baltic nation in a ballot where Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his Center Party are pitted against the center-right opposition Reform Party and where populists are seen making inroads.

Sunday's vote in the NATO and the European Union member of 1.3 million comes as the far-right, nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party, EKRE, has substantially increased its popularity since the 2015 election.

Both main contenders wish to keep it at bay.

Nearly a million voters are eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

About 26 percent have previously cast their votes online. Electronic voting pioneer Estonia was the first country in the world to use online balloting for a national election in 2005.</s>TALLINN, Estonia -- A centre-right party that held the prime minister's office in Estonia for over a decade won the Baltic country's general election Sunday, while a far-right populist party emerged as a big winner despite snubs from traditional power-brokers.

Preliminary returns from a completed ballot count showed the opposition Reform Party received 28.8 per cent of the vote, making it the top vote-getter. The party, which supports low taxes and minimal government involvement, held the premiership in Estonia from 2005-2016

The senior partner in the current coalition government, Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party, garnered 23.1 per cent of the vote. The anti-immigration Estonian Conservative People's Party, known as EKRE, came in third with 17.8 per cent.

The rival Reform and Center parties, the two main political groupings since Estonia regained independence amid the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, shared an election goal of keeping EKRE from making inroads.

The euroskeptic party, led by father and son Mart and Martin Helme, won 8.1 per cent of the vote and seven parliament seats in the 2015 election. An 18 per cent showing translates to 19 seats in the 101-seat Riigikogu.

Martin Helme, who leads EKRE's faction in parliament, said he sees the party's gains as part of a trend in Europe and other parts of the world.

“I think Estonia is no different than almost all other countries in Europe, where there's a serious public demand for political parties who will stand up against the globalist agenda and the ever-increasing movement of power from (EU) member states to Brussels.”

Only five parties passed the 5 per cent threshold of support needed to be in parliament.

The two leading parties ruled out forming a coalition with EKRE as a partner, saying populists have no place in the Estonian government. EKRE chairman Mart Helme said he had not given up on the idea.

“Yes, of course we would like to be in the coalition because every party wants to carry out its promises and program,” Helme told The Associated Press at the party's election event in Tallinn's Old Town.

Estonia has a population of 1.3 million, and nearly 1 million voters were eligible to elect parliament representatives to four-year terms. Election officials said preliminary figures put Sunday's turnout at 63.1 per cent, slightly lower than in 2015.

Campaigning mostly focused on social and economic issues, including taxes. Center campaigned mainly on public benefits, such as increasing pensions and better support for young families. Reform focused on job creation and improving the climate for businesses.

As prime minister, Ratas, 40, has led a coalition government made up of his Center Party, the Social Democrats and the conservative Fatherland since November 2016. His government replaced a Reform government that lost a confidence vote.

The junior partners in the ruling coalition had a weak showing Sunday with both losing seats.

Ratas' government substantially increased excise duties on alcohol, partly on health grounds. The Baltic nation has one of the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths in Europe.

Centre and its coalition partners also reformed Estonia's flat income tax system, a cornerstone of the economy.

The Reform Party held the prime minister's post continuously from 2005-2016. Its internal divisions led to the party changing leaders several times in recent years.

Its current head, Kaja Kallas, became the party's first female leader last year. She is the daughter of Siim Kallas, one of the Reform Party's creators and a former prime minister.

Kallas, a lawyer and a former European Parliament lawmaker, said Ratas' Cabinet “has totally messed (up) the tax system.excise duties, income tax system and people are really annoyed by this.”

All parties, including the EKRE, agree that NATO and the EU are the cornerstones of Estonia's security and foreign policy.

About 26 per cent of Estonians cast votes online by a Feb. 27 deadline. Electronic voting pioneer Estonia was the first country in the world to use online balloting for a national election in 2005. No online voting took place on election day.

Mstyslav Chernov and Philipp-Moritz Jenne contributed to this report.</s>TALLINN, Estonia — Tiny Estonia has become the latest European country with a political landscape reshaped by a populist party promising to be the bulwark for national survival in an age of globalism, a development noted Monday in light of European Union parliament elections.

Political observers watched a parliamentary election held Sunday in the Baltic nation, an EU and NATO member that borders Russia, as a continental barometer for whether far-right nationalists would continue making gains. And in Estonia, they did.

While the centre-right Reform Party, which ran on a low-tax, small-government platform, will be tasked with forming a government, the anti-immigrant and euroskeptic Estonian Conservative People’s Party more than doubled its seat tally in parliament.

Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas is expected to become the country’s first female prime minister after her party finished with 28.8 per cent of the vote. Her party said before the election it would not consider the Estonian Conservative People’s Party, or EKRE, as a potential governing coalition partner.

The far-right party nevertheless captured a larger platform for its positions, some of which critics see as homophobic and racist.

“We are dictating the Estonian political agenda,” Martin Helme, who runs EKRE with his father and leads its parliament caucus, declared after the ballot count was completed. “That’s our biggest achievement.”

He added: “I think Estonia is no different than almost all other countries in Europe, where there’s a serious public demand for political parties who will stand up against the globalist agenda and the ever-increasing movement of power from (EU) member states to Brussels.”

In recent years and months, support for populist parties with nationalist agendas has grown in Europe, from Poland and Hungary to France and Italy.

The outcome in Estonia bore similarities to what happened in Sweden last year. The Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, won 62 seats in the 349-member parliament on Sept. 9, making it the third-largest party.

The other parties ruled out forming a coalition government that included the Sweden Democrats. It took four months before a two-party, centre-left minority government took office.

In some countries, including Italy, nationalist surges followed large influxes of immigrants. In others, like Poland and Estonia, mass migration has been a source of anxiety even though the number of arriving migrants has been extremely small.

Shrinking populations and the threat of cultural identity eroding stirs the fear in countries that gained independence with the fall of the Soviet Union three decades ago.

Estonia, a former Soviet republic, has just 1.3 million people and its population declines each year due to low birth rates and emigration to richer Western countries. Ethnic Estonians make up 70 per cent of the population, or some 900,000 people.

In explaining his party’s success in the election, Martin Helme, 42, said its message promoting traditional values has appeal to voters when demographic changes are causing worries.

“Emigration is a big thing in Estonia,” he said. “The replacement of the population in Estonia. Estonians are leaving and others coming in. These are big issues. Compared to those issues, tax issues are just meaningless.”

EKRE was formed in 2012 through a merger of an agrarian and a populist party. It defines its ideology as nationalist-conservative and its goal to protect the benefits of ethnic Estonians.

The party leads an annual torch-lit Independence Day march through Tallinn’s Old Town. During the February event, hundreds of participants shout the party’s slogan “For Estonia!”

Martin Helme’s father, party chairman Mart Helme, is a former diplomat and a historian specializing in ancient Estonian civilization. He took over as EKRE’s leader in 2013 and led it to securing 8 per cent of the vote, or seven parliament seats, in 2015.

The party has in the past called for a referendum on leaving the EU but so far got no traction with that idea in a country where support for EU membership is high.

Martin Molder, a political scientist at Estonia’s University of Tartu, thinks the party’s growing strength is a protest against established elites.

“There’s a lot of generic dissatisfaction in the electorate in regards to how ‘business as usual’ is done in politics,” Molder said. “Certain parties and politicians have been in power for a long time and they’ve created a kind of class of professional politicians whose only experience in life has been doing politics.

Jan M. Olsen contributed to this report from Copenhagen, Denmark.</s>TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Latest on Estonia's general election (all times local):

The first results from a parliamentary election in Estonia put the main opposition party ahead and a far-right populist party placing ahead of the main party in the coalition now governing the small Baltic country.

With ballots from 122 of 451 polling stations counted, the center-right Reform Party had 37 percent of the vote from Sunday's election. The party held the prime minister's post continuously from 2005-2016

The nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party had 15 percent and Prime Minister Juri Ratas' left-leaning Center Party had 13.4 percent of votes.

Some 26 percent of Estonia's nearly 1 million eligible voters made their choices online by a Feb. 27 electronic voting deadline. Those votes were tallied first and included in the polling station results.

Polls have closed in Estonia, where voters cast ballots in a parliamentary election that was expected to be a close race between the left-leaning party of the current prime minister and the main center-right opposition party.

Both Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party and the center-right Reform Party shared the goal of keeping the nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party at bay.

Sunday's election in the small Baltic country, a member of both NATO and the European Union, took place as the far-right Estonian Conservative People's Party, appears to be gaining popularity.

Nearly 1 million voters were eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

Officials said voter turnout was 57 percent four hours before polls closed.

The leader of Estonia's main opposition party has voted in the general election and accused Prime Minister Juri Ratas' government of "messing up" the small Baltic nation's taxation system.

Estonians are voting Sunday in a general election where the opposition center-right Reform Party is challenging Ratas' left-leaning Center Party with a focus on socio-economic issues, such as taxation.

Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas told The Associated Press while voting in central Tallinn that "the topic that most people talk about are the taxes" and that Ratas' Cabinet "has totally messed (up) the tax system, excise duties, income tax system and people are really annoyed by this."

Among other things, Ratas' government has substantially increased excise duties on alcohol, partly on health grounds, and reformed Estonia's flat income tax, a cornerstone of the economy. Estonia has one of the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths in Europe.

Estonians have started voting in a parliamentary election in the small Baltic nation in a ballot where Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his Center Party are pitted against the center-right opposition Reform Party and where populists are seen making inroads.

Sunday's vote in the NATO and the European Union member of 1.3 million comes as the far-right, nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party, EKRE, has substantially increased its popularity since the 2015 election.

Both main contenders wish to keep it at bay.

Nearly a million voters are eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

About 26 percent have previously cast their votes online. Electronic voting pioneer Estonia was the first country in the world to use online balloting for a national election in 2005.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>DW: The center-right opposition Reform Party won Sunday's election in Estonia. The previous government, headed by the center-left Center Party, has been voted out. The far-right Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) finished third with 17.8 percent support, nearly doubling its share of the vote — though still not finishing as strongly as predicted. Could the EKRE join Estonia's new coalition government?

Florian Hartleb: The right-wing radicals greatly influenced the election campaign by stoking fears of a refugee crisis, which does not even exist in Estonia. The fear was intentionally stirred up. The EKRE will not be a part of the government, because the Estonian Reform Party, with leader Kaja Kallas, daughter of former European Commissioner Siim Kallas, has two options: She could form a grand coalition with the Center Party, which I think is the likely outcome, or there is the possibility of a coalition with the social liberals and another center-right party. Kallas doesn't really need to resort to the far-right and she probably won't, because it would damage Estonia's reputation. And she clearly defined her positions during the campaign.

How has the far-right managed to become relatively strong in Estonia? What issues are being used to score points with voters?

Estonia was the first Baltic country to pass a law on equality for gay people, which the EKRE railed against. It mobilizes with traditional values and stokes a fear of refugees, a fear of migration. In general, the election result is an expression of protest, especially from the provincial populations. The EKRE is strong in rural areas and also has a "politics of demonstration." A week before the elections, thousands of people mobilized by the EKRE marched for Estonian Independence Day in a torchlight procession. You have to take these demonstrations very seriously.

The EKRE was only formed in 2012. How would you describe the party? Are its members "Estonia first" nationalists? Are they people who blame everything on the European Union, as is the case with many other populist movements in Europe?

The party is a family operation, similar to the National Rally in France, because father Mart Helme and son Martin Helme lead the party and often make appearances together. The EKRE was born in mainstream society. Mart Helme was the former the Estonian ambassador to Russia. The Helme family is generally very well regarded in Estonia. But the EKRE went on to become more radical and today its platform is comparable to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) or the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). The EKRE also wants to sever ties with the West and says that we can leave the EU.

Does the EKRE have connections to groups that in Germany would be labeled as neo-Nazis or neofascists? I am thinking of organizations such as the Soldiers of Odin, who are active in Northern Europe.

Yes, the Soldiers of Odin were founded in Finland during the refugee crisis with the goal of replacing the regular police. These "soldiers" take part in EKRE rallies as so-called security forces. There are contacts and connections, but not to Russia. There is a tendency among the AfD, even more so among the National Rally or the FPÖ, to associate themselves with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is not the case with EKRE.

What does this mean for the European Parliament elections in May? Will the trend towards the far-right and populism continue?

It can be assumed that the right-wing populists will again gain ground, even with Estonia being a very pro-EU country. Slogans such as "Leave the EU" actually only appeal to between 15 to 20 percent of the population.

Florian Hartleb is a political scientist and consultant. He is an expert on far-right populist parties in Europe and lives in the Estonian capital, Tallin.</s>Estonia's opposition Reform Party won the country's parliamentary election on Sunday, pulling off a surprising upset over center-left Prime Minister Juri Ratas's Center Party.

The economically liberal Reform Party secured 28.8 percent of the vote, according to final results posted online by the State Electoral Office.

The Center Party came in second with 23 percent, edging out the far-right EKRE, who managed to garner 17.8 percent of the vote — more than doubling their result from the last parliamentary election and making them the third-strongest party in Estonia's 101-seat parliament.

The junior partners in Ratas governing coalition, the center-right Pro Patria party and the Social Democrats, received 11.4 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.

The results differ widely from an opinion poll published ahead of the election which projected that Reform would come out on top, but that there would be a much tighter race with the Center Party. Several other opinion polls had predicted that Center would take the lead.

The results put Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas on track to become Estonia's first female prime minister, although she and her party will face difficult negotiations to form a governing coalition — particularly due to the major wins by the EKRE.

All other political parties in Estonia have ruled out forming a governing coalition with the far-right party, which garnered support from voters by promising to slash taxes and by vowing to curb immigration.

Besides partnering with EKRE, Kallas told public broadcaster ETV that the Reform Party would "keep all coalition options on the table."

She added that her pro-business party has "strong differences with Centre in three areas: taxation, citizenship, and education."

The Reform and Center parties have alternated control of the prime minister's office over the nearly three decades since Estonia broke away from the Soviet Union. The Reform Party governed consecutively between 2005 - 2016, until the government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in November 2016.

Nearly 1 million of Estonia's 1.3 million population were eligible to vote in Sunday's parliamentary election.

Every day, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. Sign up for the newsletter here.</s>Estonia faces complex coalition talks Monday after a nationalist and anti-immigration party more than doubled its support to finish third in the general election – a result being closely watched across Europe as a sign of surging popularity for far-right populists.

The center-right Reform Party, which is the main opposition in the Baltic country's outgoing parliament, won the most votes in Sunday's election but nowhere near a majority. It has ruled out any deal with the far-right Estonian Conservative People's Party, known as EKRE, which more than doubled its seat tally compared to the 2015 election.

With European Parliament elections due in May, many political observers on the continent had looked at the Estonia vote as a barometer as to whether the far right would continue to make gains.

Martin Helme, who heads the EKRE along with his father, said he sees the party's gains as part of a trend in Europe and other parts of the world.

"I think Estonia is no different than almost all other countries in Europe, where there's a serious public demand for political parties who will stand up against the globalist agenda and the ever-increasing movement of power from [European Union] member states to Brussels," he said.

From Poland and Hungary to France and Italy, Europe has in recent months seen an increase in support for populist parties that often have a nationalist agenda.

Last year, an election in neighboring Latvia showed strong support for pro-Russia and populist factions to become the second- and third-largest in the Baltic country.

The outcome of Estonia's elections bears similarities with what happened in Sweden across the Baltic Sea. There, the Sweden Democrats which has neo-Nazi roots, became the third largest party after making great strides in the Sept. 9 national election.

But none of the other Swedish parties wanted to have them in any government, sparking four months of a political deadlock that ended in January with a two-party, center-left minority governing coalition headed by the Social Democrats – the country's largest political group.

In Estonia, Reform leader Kaja Kallas is expected to be tasked to form the Cabinet and emerge as the country's first female prime minister after her party finished with 28.8 percent of the vote.

Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party garnered 23.1 percent, and EKRE ended up with 19 seats in the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature after grabbing 17.8 percent of the vote. By comparison, the party won seven seats with 8.1 percent four years ago.

Ms. Kallas, if she is tasked with forming a government, has a number of options to consider.

Observers say the most likely scenario is that Kallas will ask the Social Democrats and the conservative Fatherland – two junior partners in the current Cabinet – to join Reform.

Kallas took over the reins as Reform Party chairwoman only last year. The party had struggled with an internal crisis and weak leadership since losing the prime minister's post in November 2016.

Kallas is the daughter of Siim Kallas, one of the Reform Party's creators in the early 1990s and a former prime minister.

Estonia has a population of 1.3 million, and nearly 1 million voters were eligible to elect parliamentary representatives to four-year terms. Turnout was 63.1 percent, according to preliminary figures, which is slightly lower than the 2015 election.

The country, which joined the EU and NATO in 2004, also borders Russia and is known for its tech startups.

This story was reported by The Associated Press with contributions from Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark.</s>TALLINN, Estonia — The Latest on Estonia’s general election (all times local):

Polls have closed in Estonia, where voters cast ballots in a parliamentary election that was expected to be a close race between the left-leaning party of the current prime minister and the main centre-right opposition party.

Both Prime Minister Juri Ratas’ Center Party and the centre-right Reform Party shared the goal of keeping the nationalist Estonian Conservative People’s Party at bay.

Sunday’s election in the small Baltic country, a member of both NATO and the European Union, took place as the far-right Estonian Conservative People’s Party, appears to be gaining popularity.

Nearly 1 million voters were eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

Officials said voter turnout was 57 per cent four hours before polls closed.

The leader of Estonia’s main opposition party has voted in the general election and accused Prime Minister Juri Ratas’ government of “messing up” the small Baltic nation’s taxation system.

Estonians are voting Sunday in a general election where the opposition centre-right Reform Party is challenging Ratas’ left-leaning Center Party with a focus on socio-economic issues, such as taxation.

Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas told The Associated Press while voting in central Tallinn that “the topic that most people talk about are the taxes” and that Ratas’ Cabinet “has totally messed (up) the tax system, excise duties, income tax system and people are really annoyed by this.”

Among other things, Ratas’ government has substantially increased excise duties on alcohol, partly on health grounds, and reformed Estonia’s flat income tax, a cornerstone of the economy. Estonia has one of the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths in Europe.

Estonians have started voting in a parliamentary election in the small Baltic nation in a ballot where Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his Center Party are pitted against the centre-right opposition Reform Party and where populists are seen making inroads.

Sunday’s vote in the NATO and the European Union member of 1.3 million comes as the far-right, nationalist Estonian Conservative People’s Party, EKRE, has substantially increased its popularity since the 2015 election.

Both main contenders wish to keep it at bay.

Nearly a million voters are eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

About 26 per cent have previously cast their votes online. Electronic voting pioneer Estonia was the first country in the world to use online balloting for a national election in 2005.</s>The populist Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) won nearly 18 per cent in Sunday’s ballot, securing 20 seats. The radical right party saw a surge in support with its fiercely anti-immigrant message. Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas is set to become Estonia’s first female prime minister after her party won 29.3 per cent of the vote, increasing their seats by four to 34, but she must now form a fresh coalition government.

Estonia elections cause crisis for EU as populists to soar

Centre-left curent Prime Minister Juri Ratas saw his hopes of forming a majority government dashed by the rise in support for EKRE, with his Centre Party securing only 26 seats

The Center Party had been in coalition with the Social Democrats and the center-right Pro Patria party since the last government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in November 2016.

His party won 22.3 per cent of the vote, with the current coalition unlikely to continue as it will not have enough seats, winning only around 47 of 101 seats in the new Riigikogu parliament.

More than 63 per cent of voters cast their ballot in Sunday's election.
Jüri Ratas, incumbent Prime Minister of Estonia, and his party gets second place in the election, while opposition leader Kaja Kallas's Estonian Reform Party gets the largest number of votes, and the right-wing Conservative People's Party doubles in seats.