Estonia flag Estonia: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Estonia

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Alar KARIS (since 11 October 2021)
Prime Minister: Kaja KALLAS (since 26 January 2021)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: 2026
Parliament: March 2027
Main Political Parties
Estonia has a multi-party system. Political parties often work together to form coalition governments. The major political forces in the country are:

- Reform Party: centre-right, conservative liberalism, largest represented political faction
- Estonian Centre Party (K): centre-left, populist, has always secured parliamentary representation following independence. It is part of the ruling coalition
- Estonia 200 (E200): liberal, supports the government coalition
- Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE): national conservatism, Estonian nationalism. It is part of the ruling coalition
- Isamaa (I): national conservatism, Christian democracy. It is part of the ruling coalition
- Social Democratic Party (SDE): centre-left, promotes social democracy.
Executive Power
The President is the chief of the state and is elected by the parliament for a five-year term (renewable once). The President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He/she nominates the Prime Minister after approval by the parliament (generally the leader of the majority party or coalition), for a 4-year term. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and also holds the executive powers, which include the implementation of the law in the country and running the day-to-day affairs. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the parliament.
Legislative Power
The legislature in Estonia is unicameral. The parliament is called the State Assembly (or Riigikogu), it has 101 seats with its members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The State Assembly is the highest organ of state authority. It initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the Prime Minister. The government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. The government cannot dissolve the parliament but can recommend the same to the President who has to take parliament into confidence before making a decision. The citizens of Estonia enjoy considerable political rights. Estonia is among the world's leaders in e-governance and features an impressively transparent system in which government decisions are almost instantly made available on the Internet.

The Judiciary is independent in Estonia, and generally free from government influence. The main source of the law is the Constitution of June 1992. The legal system is based on the civil law system. No judicial review of legislative acts takes place in the country. Estonia is a member of the European Union, and the national law in the country needs to comply with the conditions of the Community legislation. Estonia accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but with reservations.

 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
15/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: June 2024