2015 Estonian parliamentary election

1 March 2015
101 seats in the Riigikogu 51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	64.23% (0.70pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Taavi Rõivas Edgar Savisaar Sven Mikser Party Reform Centre SDE Last election 28.56%, 33 seats 23.32%, 26 seats 17.09%, 19 seats Seats won 30 27 15 Seat change 3 1 4 Popular vote 158,970 142,458 87,189 Percentage 27.69% 24.81% 15.19% Swing 0.87pp 1.49pp 1.90pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Urmas Reinsalu Andres Herkel Mart Helme Party IRL Free EKRE Last election 20.52%, 23 seats – 2.12%, 0 seats Seats won 14 8 7 Seat change 9 New 7 Popular vote 78,699 49,882 46,772 Percentage 13.71% 8.69% 8.15% Swing 6.81pp New 6.03pp
Results by electoral district
Prime Minister before election Taavi Rõivas Reform Prime Minister after election Taavi Rõivas Reform

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.^[1] 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.

In January 2015, the National Electoral Committee announced that ten political parties and eleven individual candidates had registered to take part in the 2015 parliamentary election. Individuals from contesting political parties also participated in multiple organised debates in January and February 2015.

Following this election, Reform successfully negotiated with the Triple Alliance parties SDE and IRL afterwards, forming a second government headed by Rõivas in April. This coalition fell after a vote of confidence in the following year, bringing about the first government to not feature Reform since 1999 due to the collapse of the cordon sanitaire around the Centre Party after it elected a new leader, ending the long-lasting leadership of Edgar Savisaar, who had been perceived as too Russophilic.^[2][3]

Background

This was the first election since the resignation of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, who relinquished his position after holding the office for almost nine years, a record-length tenure for an Estonian head of government. Following the resignation, a new coalition comprising the Estonian Reform Party and the Estonian Social Democrats were authorized to form a new government on 24 March 2014 with 34-year-old Taavi Rõivas as the new Prime Minister. This replaced the prior coalition of the Estonian Reform Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union.^[4]

Electoral system

The 101 members of the Riigikogu were elected by proportional representation in twelve multi-member constituencies. The seats were allocated using a modified D'Hondt method. Parties had to pass a nationwide threshold of 5%, but if the number of votes cast for an individual candidate exceeded or equalled the simple quota (obtained by dividing the number of valid votes cast in the electoral district by the number of mandates in the district), they were elected.

Contesting parties

The Estonian National Electoral Committee announced that ten political parties and 11 individual candidates registered to take part in the 2015 parliamentary election. Their registration numbers and order were determined by a draw lot.

Opinion polls

Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading party's color. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Estonian Reform Party	158,970	27.69	30	–3
	Estonian Centre Party	142,458	24.81	27	+1
	Social Democratic Party	87,189	15.19	15	–4
	Pro Patria and Res Publica Union	78,699	13.71	14	–9
	Estonian Free Party	49,882	8.69	8	New
	Conservative People's Party	46,772	8.15	7	+7
	Estonian Greens	5,193	0.90	0	0
	Party of People's Unity	2,289	0.40	0	New
	Estonian Independence Party	1,047	0.18	0	0
	Estonian United Left Party	764	0.13	0	New
	Independents	887	0.15	0	0
Total		574,150	100.00	101	0
Valid votes		574,150	99.35
Invalid/blank votes		3,760	0.65
Total votes		577,910	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		899,793	64.23
Source: VVK

Aftermath

The Reform Party started coalition talks with the Social Democrats, Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL) and the Free Party.^[6] After nearly three weeks of negotiations, the Free Party left the coalition talks due to disagreements with the Reform Party and the IRL.^[7] The three remaining parties signed the coalition treaty on 8 April, and the cabinet took office on 9 April.^[8]

See also

• Members of the 13th Riigikogu

Notes

References

External links

• Estonian National Electoral Committee (in English)
• Poll ratings of political parties Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Eesti Erakondade Ajalugu (in Estonian)